Why Tim Couch might never have turned into a UK football legend in transfer portal era

Had college football’s current transfer rules existed in 1996, Kentucky football legend Tim Couch might have been elected to the College Football Hall of Fame this week in a different jersey.

Couch, the top-ranked high school quarterback in the country when he signed with UK from Leslie County, struggled as a freshman while splitting time with Billy Jack Haskins in Bill Curry’s option offense. UK coaches had promised to build the offense around Couch’s strengths as a pocket passer when he arrived on campus, but those promises went unfulfilled, Couch said this week while looking back on his UK career after the hall of fame announcement.

“We get to training camp and the first play we put in is me coming down the line on the option and pitching it off the end who’s not blocked,” Couch said. “I called my dad and was like, ‘This is not going to work. I don’t know if they saw my tape, but I’m no option quarterback.’”

Couch promised his father he would give Kentucky at least a full season to see how things progressed, but the threat of a transfer was clear almost immediately.

As a freshman, Couch completed 32 of 84 passes for 276 yards, one touchdown and one interception. His first career start came at Florida. He completed six passes for 13 yards and did not record a first down on his first seven possessions on the way to a 65-0 loss.

“I was very down in the dumps after my freshman year,” Couch said. “Playing for Coach Curry that season and running the option and doing all the things that happened that year had me really questioning, could I play at this level? When you’re starting against Florida on the road, running the option and losing 60-0, questions started coming into your mind a little bit.”

Even after Curry was fired, Couch was open about the possibility he might transfer.

In an online chat with fans for ESPN in November 1996, he went as far as to list Tennessee, Florida and Ohio State as possible options if he left Kentucky.

Instead, UK athletics director C.M. Newton hired little-known Valdosta State coach Hal Mumme to bring his “Air Raid” offense to the Southeastern Conference. Mumme and Couch immediately clicked.

The partnership would result in two record-breaking seasons with Couch as Kentucky’s starter.

Couch was named SEC Player of the Year in 1998 and a Heisman Trophy finalist. He broke seven NCAA records, 14 SEC records and 26 school records while at UK. The Cleveland Browns selected Couch with the No. 1 pick in the 1999 NFL draft.

“I was going to transfer,” Couch said. “C.M. knew that. He called me into his office and said, ‘If you’ll go through this process with me, just give me a few more weeks, I’m going to find a coach I think you’re going to like.’ I said, ‘I’ll go through the process with you.’

“I waited, and he called me and he goes, ‘I’ve got a guy for you.’ Who is he? He goes, ‘His name is Hal Mumme.’ My first response was, who the hell is Hal Mumme? I didn’t even know Valdosta State. I didn’t know that either. But the first time I met Hal I knew immediately it was going to work.”

At the time, any college football player that transferred was required to sit out a season at his new school before being eligible to play again. While Couch’s freshman struggles led to a crisis of confidence regarding his ultimate ceiling, for a player that arrived in college with so much hype delaying his possible path to the NFL for another year was a factor that had to be considered.

Today, college athletes are free to transfer at least once without sitting out a season. The transfer portal has become a college version of offseason free agency with programs using it to fill positions of immediate need.

There is no shortage of tampering involved resulting in players being wooed to other programs with behind-the-scenes promises of more playing time or name, image and likeness endorsement deals, but one of the most common justifications for transferring is still a player looking for more playing time or a better schematic fit. What if the transfer portal had existed for Couch?

“I would have been in it, I think,” he said. “Probably halfway through that first year.”

The decision to stay at Kentucky long enough to give Mumme a chance paid off for Couch.

While injuries derailed his NFL career, he has used the money he made as a professional and the connections he made at Kentucky to launch a successful post-football business career.

“(My dad) really, really wanted me to be here,” Couch said. “At the time, as a young kid, I didn’t understand why. Now I do. He was right. It turned out he made the right decision. He knew what the best place for me was.

“It’s led to many, many things for me after football. The fact that I stayed home and played has led to some great business opportunities for me in this state — for me and my brother. We’ve really been able to just get with some people we would have never met if I didn’t come to Kentucky. And had some great connections and great opportunities.”

With current UK coach Mark Stoops watching Couch’s Hall of Fame news conference in person, it would be little surprise if Stoops immediately sent Couch’s comments to the gaggle of current UK stars facing transfer interest from traditional powers.

Couch remaining at Kentucky marked the second time he spurned those schools for his home-state program. He originally committed to play for Tennessee in high school before ultimately signing with the Wildcats.

“I’m so glad that I did,” Couch said. “Not that I don’t think I would have had great success at Tennessee. I think I would have because they were such a talented team back then as well, but it means so much more for me to do it wearing the blue and white and wearing Kentucky across my chest in front of my family.

“… As a kid, you watch these games growing up. You’re out there in the stadium and you’re playing, it’s a dream come true for a kid from Kentucky.”

How spring practice will help determine what’s next for UK football’s transfer portal class

The 12-team playoff era is coming. What would UK have to do to make the field in 2024?

How the Gator Bowl might have already shown impact of new UK football assistant coach

Kentucky football 2024 offseason schedule: Spring practice, transfer portal dates and more

A familiar face is returning to Mark Stoops’ Kentucky football staff for 2024 season