Tyler Shough, who bounced back from three straight injury-shortened seasons to throw for more than 3,000 yards in his only year at Louisville, was one of three winners of college football’s Comeback Player of the Year Award announced Tuesday.
South Carolina‘s Raheim “Rocket” Sanders, who returned from devastating knee and shoulder surgeries to rank among the Southeastern Conference’s top running backs, and Utah State‘s Ike Larsen, who overcame a mental health crisis to become one of the top safeties in the Mountain West, were the other comeback players of the year.
The Comeback Player of the Year Award is voted on by Associated Press Top 25 voters and sports information directors from around the country. The players will be honored at the Fiesta Bowl on Dec. 31 in Glendale, Arizona.
Shough was a seventh-year player this season who began his college career at Oregon and helped lead the Ducks to the 2020 Pac-12 championship before he transferred to Texas Tech. A broken collarbone ended his 2021 season after four games, and a shoulder injury in the 2022 opener kept him out of six games. A broken left fibula ended his 2023 season after four games.
He transferred to Louisville in the offseason, started all 12 games and finished fourth in the Atlantic Coast Conference with 3,195 yards passing and fifth with 23 touchdown passes. He threw for over 300 yards in three games while leading the Cardinals to an 8-4 record.
Sanders began his career at Arkansas and was the SEC’s second-leading rusher with 1,443 yards as a sophomore in 2022. He was limited to six games in 2023 because of a knee issue and a significant shoulder injury that required a complex surgery, including a bone graft and muscle and tendon transfers to repair chronic, severe dislocations.
Sanders transferred to South Carolina in the offseason and was praised by athletic trainers for his dedication to rehabilitation. His performances improved steadily over the season. He was third in the SEC with 881 yards rushing and fifth with 11 rushing touchdowns. He led conference running backs with 316 yards receiving on 27 catches.
Larsen faced difficult challenges in 2021, his first year at Utah State. His parents were hospitalized with COVID-19, and his mother was in a coma for most of football season. He also broke up with his longtime girlfriend.
This year, on National Suicide Prevention Day, he shared his story of being consumed by dark thoughts while driving around town with a gun by his side on Dec. 12, 2021. Stepping out of the car, he pulled the gun out, but instead of pulling the trigger, he dialed 911. First responders helped calm him, and with the support of family, friends, coaches and teammates, he went through therapy and learned coping skills.
He was an All-Mountain West second-team pick in 2022 and first-team pick in 2023. He was the Aggies’ second-leading tackler this season with 80 stops, and he broke up nine passes and intercepted one.