Thursday Headlines: Tim Couch’s Dad vs Tennessee

The Kentucky legend had an interesting story involving his dad during his high school recruitment

By Zac Oakes@ZacOakes Aug 10, 2023, 6:40am EDT

Tim Couch was almost a Tennessee Volunteer, but thankfully, the bluegrass native stayed home and went on to become one of the most famous players in program history.

But that decision to play for Kentucky was a tough process and quite the roller-coaster, as Couch explained yesterday as a guest on Kentucky Sports Radio.

Couch told a story of how, while on an in-home visit with Tennessee coach Phil Fulmer and offensive coordinator David Cutcliffe, his dad walked out in the middle of the visit.

“And in the middle of the conversation, my dad gets up and leaves the room and he goes outside,” Couch said. “I hear him start his old red truck up and he takes off and Fulmer and Cutcliffe are in shock. This has never happened before. A recruit’s parent just gets up and leaves in the middle of a conversation. They’re like, ‘Should we wait on him?’ I’m like, ‘He ain’t coming back.’”

At that time, Couch had already given a verbal commitment to play at Tennessee, but after his dad came back, he and his dad had a falling out in which Tim moved out for a few days and stayed with a friend before coming back and agreeing to go to Kentucky to try it out for a year.

That freshman year, of course, was not ideal for Couch, who played in a pass-friendly offense in high school that allowed him to set multiple records and showcase his arm talent. At Kentucky, Couch was playing in an option offense where he was splitting time at QB.

That almost led to a transfer to Knoxville, but C.M. Newton notably convinced Couch to stick it out and give incoming head coach Hal Mumme a shot.

That decision obviously worked out in Couch’s favor. He went on to throw for a combined 8,159 yards the next two seasons, along with 73 touchdowns, while finishing fourth in the Heisman voting in 1998 and being the No. 1 overall draft pick in the 1999 NFL Draft.

Tweet of the Day

Here's a fun "it's almost football season" topic.

What's the single most consequential recruiting battle/player flip in college football history? One guy who, if he'd not flipped or if he'd gone the other way, would've most dramatically changed the college football landscape?
— parker, believing in colorado state (@statsowar) August 8, 2023