Tim Couch will be inducted into National High School Hall of Fame July 1

Tim Couch was the perfect quarterback to run Hal Mumme's Air Raid offense. He was fourth in the Heisman Trophy voting in 1998 and the first pick in the 1999 NFL Draft. (UK Athletics Photo)

The first time I saw Tim Couch play for Leslie County High School it was obvious he was a special, special player. Nothing I saw him do at Kentucky changed my mind and while not everyone appreciates what he did in the NFL, they should because the teams he played on at Cleveland just were not very good. He got pounded and then pounded some more. But he got the Browns to the playoffs, something Baker Mayfield learned last year was not all that easy to do.

That’s why I was glad to learn Tuesday that Couch will become the 10th individual from Kentucky to be inducted into the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) National High School Hall of Fame July 1 in Orlando. The only previous athletes from Kentucky to be inducted are former UK basketball player Cliff Hagan, former NFL star Paul Hornung, and former women’s basketball standout Geri Grigsby.

How good was Couch, who turns 44 next month?

He set national career passing records at Leslie County with 872 completions, 133 touchdowns and 12,104 yards. His 75 percent completion rate his junior year was a national record that stood for 15 years. I still remember his senior season when he threw for 42 touchdowns and was the toast of the Bluegrass. He might have been the easiest Mr. Football choice the Associated Press Sports Editors had while I was head of that group in Kentucky.

What you might not remember is that he was almost as special on the basketball court where he averaged 37 points per game his senior season to lead the state. He scored over 3,000 points and many remain convinced he could have played basketball at Kentucky.

Couch actually thought Tennessee would be the better college choice but his eastern Kentucky roots and father’s desire to have him play for the Cats got him to Lexington where coach Bill Curry wasted his freshman year — I still remember the game Curry had him try to run the option. Hal Mumme took over as coach for Couch’s sophomore history and the legend was made.

He ended his incredible three-year career at UK passing for 8,159 yards and 73 touchdowns as a sophomore and junior by completing 795 of 1,184 passes. He was in the thick of the Heisman Trophy voting in 1998 when he finished fourth after helping UK get to the Outback Bowl thanks in part to a road win at LSU. That season he also hooked up with Craig Yeast on a 97-yard scoring pass against Florida.

During that 1998 season, he COMPLETED 400 passes when he had 4,151 total yards — a record that last nine years before Tim Tebow broke it in 2007. His 4,275 passing yards in 1998 also was an SEC record that stood until Heisman Trophy winner Joe Burrow of LSU broke it in 2019.

Couch was the No. 1 pick in the 1999 NFL Draft by Cleveland, an expansion team with a woeful offensive line. Yet in five years when he made 59 starts he completed 59.8 percent of his passes — still best in Cleveland history — and his 64 touchdown passes ranked seventh all-time. He’s third in pass completions with 1,025 and fifth in passing yards with 11,131.

Couch was selected for induction in March of 2020 but last year’s ceremony was canceled by COVID.

Other Kentuckians already in the National High School Hall of Fame are:
Coach – William L Kean (Central) 1993; Garnis Martin (Bardstown) 1994; S.T. Roach (Dunbar) 1996.

Official – Charlie Ruter (Track and Field) 2001; Jerry Kimmel (Basketball) 2013.

Contributor – Louis Stout (Administrator) 2006