UH on Cardinals' selection of former quarterback Tune: 'The ultimate competitor'

Clayton Tune will go from the scarlet of the University of Houston (UH) Cougars to the cardinal red of the Arizona Cardinals. 

The Cardinals nabbed the former UH signal caller with the 139th overall pick in the fifth round of the just-concluded 2023 National Football League (NFL) Draft on Saturday.

Per a report from Houston CBS affiliate KHOU, the selection of the North Texas born and bred Tune gives Arizona’s quarterback room a full Texas flavor since current field generals Kyler Murray, Colt McCoy and David Blough all played high school ball in the Lone Star State. 

Tune considers himself a player who “elevates everyone around me,” KHOU reported. 

"I'm a natural leader,” the 24-year-old said in the report. “People follow me. People see the work I put in and the mindset and they want to follow suit. I have that no-flinch mentality when things get tough."

Tune played in Houston’s Third Ward neighborhood from 2018 to 2022, amassing nearly 12,000 passing yards, 104 touchdowns and 41 interceptions, per the Sports Reference website. 

During his final season, KHOU reported, the Carrollton Hebron product generated a senior-year line of more than 4,000 yards and 40 touchdowns through the air. 

“The ultimate competitor,” Tune’s alma mater said in a tweet following the Cardinals’ selection of him.

He joins former go-to target Nathaniel “Tank” Dell as the lone two Cougars to hear their names called at the draft. 

Dell’s NFL career will commence not too far from TDECU Stadium as the Houston Texans traded with the Los Angeles Rams for the third-round pick to land him. 

UH fans had witnessed Tune and Dell play catch each Saturday the last three years, with the Cougars’ 23-16 Independence Bowl victory over the University of Louisiana-Lafayette (ULL) Ragin’ Cajuns the day before Christmas Eve 2022 being their last game together, Houston Daily reported. 

The publication reported that two of Tune’s final three tosses for scores went to Dell.