Early Life, Education, and Early Football Career
Shuler was born in Bryson City, North Carolina, a small town in the Great Smoky Mountains on the Tennessee border. His father was a mail carrier and his mother a homemaker and volunteer with the Swain County Youth Association; he has a younger brother, Benjie.
Shuler's athletic career began at Swain County High School. A standout quarterback who led his team to two state championships and was named the North Carolina High School Player of the Year, he drew plenty of scout attention and accepted an athletic scholarship to the University of Tennessee in 1990.
At Tennessee, Shuler gained national attention as one of the SEC's top quarterbacks. He held nearly all Volunteer passing records at the end of his career, although most of them have since been eclipsed by Peyton Manning. In 1993, he came in second in the vote for the Heisman Trophy.
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