Tim Couch Admits His Father Was Right About UK Being Perfect Spot For Him

Hall of Famer Tim Couch with UK coach Mark Stoops Tuesday. (UK Athletics Photo)

I could not help chuckling when Tim Couch admitted Tuesday if there had been a transfer portal in 1996, he never would have finished his football career at Kentucky that led to All-American honors, being the No. 1 overall pick in the 1999 NFL draft and now being elected to the College Football Hall of Fame.

After a record-setting prep career at Leslie County High School, Couch signed with UK even though he originally committed to Tennessee. He said Kentucky coach Bill Curry and offensive coordinator Elliott Uzelac promised him he would get a chance to throw the football.

“We get to training camp, and the first play we put in was me coming down the line in the option and pitching the ball,” Couch said Tuesday. “I called my dad and said ‘This is not going to work.'”

Couch played in seven games in 1996, completing 32 passes for one score and ran the ball 24 times. Kentucky lost to Florida 65-0, Alabama 35-7 and Tennessee 56-10 to finish the year 4-7.

Curry and Uzelac were fired and UK athletics director C.M. Newton asked Couch to give him a chance to hire a new coach before he transferred. Newton hired passing guru Hal Mumme of Valdosta State.

Couch said Monday not only did he have no idea who Mumme was, but he had never heard of Valdosta State, a Division II program in Georgia. However, he loved the offense Mumme used because it was similar to what he ran at Leslie County.

“C.M. took a chance on an unknown and said bring this guy to the SEC,” Couch recalled Tuesday. “He just happened to have him (assistant) Mike Leach with him. It was a perfect fit for all of us. I was very down in the dumps after my freshman year and all the things that happened. It had me questioning if I could play at this level.”

Couch said he talked to Mumme on Monday night to thank him for what he did for him.

“I would not be in the Hall of Fame without him,” Couch said.

I’m not quite so sure about that because Couch completed 795 of 1,184 passes at UK under Mumme for 8,435 yards and 74 scores. He broke seven NCAA records, 14 SEC records and 26 school records.  He threw for 300 or more yards 20 times at Kentucky including 499 yards on Arkansas, 498 on Louisville, 492 on Vanderbilt and 476 on Tennessee.

Steve Spurrier (Florida), Lou Holtz (Notre Dame) and Joe Paterno (Penn State) all found their way to Leslie County to recruit Couch along with many other coaches. But Couch’s father, Elbert, was a Kentucky fan and even after his commitment to the Vols, told him he was going to UK.

“He really really wanted me to be here. At the time as a young kid I didn’t understand why, but now I do,” Couch said Tuesday. “He was right. He knew what the best place for me was.”

Couch said doing what he did just meant more wearing the blue and white for UK.

“Wearing Kentucky across my chest, in front of my family and just getting a chance to play here — as a kid growing up, you watch these games in the stadium and now you’re out there and you’re playing. So it’s a dream come true for a kid from Kentucky,” Couch said.