Kentucky’s Future Rests on Couch’s Arm

Go ahead, ask Kentucky’s Tim Couch any question. Like any great quarterback, he can’t be frazzled.

Were you seriously thinking about leaving Big Blue Country after last year’s 4-7 record, when you finished 32-of-84 passing?

“Definitely. I thought I was 100 percent sure at the end of last year. Me and (Tennessee offensive coordinator) Coach (David) Cutcliffe had gotten real close during the recruiting process, and I felt really comfortable with him and that’s (transferring to Tennessee) probably what I was looking toward doing. But when Coach (Hal) Mumme got hired, that changed.”

Do you feel you’re under greater pressure now that Kentucky has hired a new coach?

“I don’t worry about it. Pressure is something you put on yourself, and I don’t put any on myself. But I do have high standards. I set high goals and work to achieve them.”

Will you have command of the players?

“After spring ball, I think I earned the respect of the guys. They really believe in me now, and they’ve seen what I can do.”

It’s hard not to be impressed with the poise of Couch, although we had our doubts about his ability when we first heard about him in the summer of 1995: How could a quarterback from Leslie County High in Hyden, Ky., be considered the nation’s best prospect? Sure, Couch set national prep career records for completions, passing yards and touchdown tosses that fall, but who was he playing against in Hyden (pop. 375)? Maybe Bo and Luke Duke drove over in the General Lee from nearby Hazard for a game. Boss Hogg and Sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrane probably worked on the chain gang.

Couch is about to prove good things come from small-town packages. Last year as a freshman, he battled doubters on his squad. Bill Curry refused to bequeath a starting spot from Day One to the greatest football recruit in school history. We don’t know what he had to lose, considering Curry was 22-45 in his first six seasons.

Curry doesn’t have to worry about that now -- he was fired. Mumme knows which piston will fire the Wildcats’ engine, and he has just the offense to make it shine.

Mumme directed a passing attack at Division II Valdosta (Ga.) State that would have made LaVell Edwards smile. The scheme is patterned after the system BYU has used to riddle WAC defenses for years. When Couch found out that Mumme’s quarterback the past two years -- Lance Funderburk -- passed for 7,932 yards and 64 touchdowns, well, Lexington didn’t seem like such a bad place after all.

And Couch will be able to do his thing without looking over his shoulder. Last year, according to Couch, there was turbulence among the Kentucky troops over which quarterback to back: Billy Jack Haskins, the incumbent starter/former Paducah, Ky., passing hero, or Couch, the biggest thing to hit Kentucky football since, well, since ever.

It’s a problem no more, as Haskins has transferred to Rhode Island for his final year of eligibility. It didn’t take Mumme long to call Couch into his office upon arrival and whisper sweet pass patterns in his ear.

“Coach Mumme came in, and the things he told me we were going to do were things I felt I could do well,” Couch says. “That’s what changed my mind (about leaving).”

Don’t get him wrong. Couch is no me-first 1990s athlete. Remember his small-town upbringing? Couch does, and his demeanor reflects that. Couch has media savvy that belies his Cumberland Mountain roots. Why is his lilting twang so convincing? Couch watched his brother/role model, Greg, deal with cameras, pens and microphones during a successful quarterbacking career at I-AA power Eastern Kentucky. And like anyone who was raised right, Couch will finish what he started.

Couch will work with a mediocre receiving corps, no established running back and a line that hasn’t played well. Still, Mumme’s offense will take advantage of Kentucky’s one strong point: Couch’s arm. If Couch and the ‘Cats are too efficient at scoring, it will mean a defense that allowed 29 points per game last season will be on the field far too much.

Kentucky must take things one at a time; let’s sit back and watch Couch get comfy.