Thursday, August 20, 1998
The University Daily Kansan
Section B · Page 7
Tim Couch set to throw Wildcats into higher level of bowl contention
Junior quarterback plans to lead Kentucky,hunt for Heisman Trophy
The Associated Press
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Growing up in the mountains of eastern Kentucky, Tim Couch worried he'd never get a chance to show the world what he could do on the football field.
"I always thought there were so many things that were going to hold me back," he said. "Coming from such a small place, I didn't think anyone could find me."
Couch since has learned that if you grow up to be 6 feet, 5 inches tall, with a rifle right arm and the poise that distinguishes movie heroes and true quarterbacks, scouts will find him no matter where he is.
The rest of the SEC learned Kentucky's quarterback could play last fall, when the sophomore led the nation in completions, threw for more yards than any other quarterback, dueled Tennessee's Peyton Manning in a shootout and led the Wildcats to their first win against Alabama in 75 years.
Peyton's place now is in the NFL, and fall 1998 is seen throughout Kentucky as Tim's time to lead the Wildcats to a bowl game and perhaps capture the Heisman trophy that eluded Manning.
"There's going to be a lot of pressure put on me to perform," Couch said. "I've got to come out and perform and give us a chance to win."
Couch has been the central figure in Kentucky football since 1996, when he announced he would stay in the state for college.
Growing up in Hyden, a town of 375 people in the Appalachians, Couch said there wasn't much to do other than wrestle with is brother Greg.
"There was a lot of closeness between them," said the boys' father, Elbert Couch, a transportation supervisor in Leslie County, Ky. "As close as two brothers can get."
Greg was quarterback at Leslie County High School and went on to Division I-AA power Eastern Kentucky University.
"It wasn't planned, but it happened just right," Elbert Couch said. "When Greg graduated (from high school), Tim graduated from eighth grade, so he came in and started as a freshman."
The younger brother rewrote the national high school record book, throwing for more than 12,000 yards and 133 touchdowns and
winning national player of the year honors as a senior.
Home games brought Friday-night crowds of more than 5,000 people to Hyden. Elbert Couch said he remembered people parking their cars near the field three hours before games.
"It was kind of understood that we were going to open the offense up, kind of build it around what I could do best if I came here," Couch said. "So when I came here, that's what I expected, and it didn't work out that way."
Although Tim Couch considered going to Tennessee, where he would have been red-shirted behind Manning, then-Kentucky coach Bill Curry won a fierce college-recuiting battle by promising to modify his onion attack for the young gun.
Couch was mainly on the bench during his freshman year and ended up attempting only 84 passes that season. Curry was fired for a 1-6 start and for mishandling his star recruit.
A 5-6 record last season under new coach Hal Mumme and his pass-intensive offense was only one game better than 1996, but Couch's emergence was the real story, as he completed 363 of 547 passes for 3,884 yards and 37 touchdowns. All but the last of those numbers were SEC records.
Each week brought new achievements: an 80-yard touchdown to Kloe Sanford in the opener against Louisville; a conference-record seven touchdown throws against Indiana; a 26-yard touchdown throw to Craig Yeast for the overtime game-winner against Alabama; an SEC-secure 41 completions in losses to Georgia and LSU; a school-record 476 yards passing in the season-end.
This year, expectations are sky-high — the Wildcats p; practice in T-shirts that read "Focus: 1:7-99," a reference to the date on which the y hope to play a bowl game.
ing showdown with Manning.
To earr the Heisman, Couch said, he would need to put up numbers similar to last year and lead his team to a major bowl. With the Wildcats facing four teams in The Associated Press' preseason Top 25 — including Florida, Tennessee and LSU on the road — such a scenario would require at least one road upset and close games in the other two matchups.
In other words, it's time for Couch to add the winning touch that characterized his boyhood idol. Joe Montana.
"He won all the big games, he was such a clutch performer when it came to crunch time, so he's just a great role model," Couch said.
While he prepares for his junior season, Couch also is keeping an eye on NFL rookies Manning, of the Indianapolis Colts, and Ryan Leaf, the Washington State quarterback now with the San Diego Chargers.
Couch admits to being torn between the examples of Manning, whose love affair with Tennessee brought him back for his senior season, and Leaf, who turned pro after leading the Cougars to the Pac-10 title.
“It’s just going to depend on where I’m at the end of the year,” he said. “I think what kind of season we have this year is really going to have a lot to do with it and if I feel I'm ready to go to the next level and compete. Now, I have every intention of coming back for that fourth year.”
Tim Couch Records
Kentucky quarterback Tim Couch broke 17 Kentucky single-game, season and career records in 1997. He also broke or tied the following SEC records:
Pass attempts: 66 vs. Louisiana State (tied record)
SINGLE-GAME RECORDS
Pass completions: 41 vs. Georgia and Louisiana State
Touchdown passes: seven vs. Indiana (tied record)
Touchdowns, rushing and passing: seven vs Indiana and Northeast Louisiana (tied record)
Friday
SINGLE-SEASON RECORDS
Paper archives 547
Pass attempts: 347
Pass completions: 363
Pass attempts: 547
Pass completions: 363
Passing yardage: 3,884
Passing yardage. 3,684
Total offensive plays: 613
Total offensive yardage: 3,759
Total offensive yards a game: 341.7
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