Former UK quarterback Tim Couch says former UK coach Hal Mumme and staff members were ahead of the times. (Vicky Graff Photo)
Soon former University of Kentucky legend Tim Couch will be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. However, the former Leslie County star really wanted to play for Tennessee, not Kentucky.
“I committed to Tennessee in high school and backed out of the verbal commitment. I went to UK because of my dad. He wanted me to go there. At the time I did not understand why,” Couch said. “It wasn’t a great fit for me. Me and dad, there was some tension and arguments.”
Tennessee coach Phil Fulmer came to Hyden for a home visit and Couch’s father walked out of the meeting.
“It was one of the most awkward situations ever. We were sitting in the living room. I told coach Fulmer I was ready to come and commit. He said, ‘Great,’ and dad leaves the room and takes off. They were stunned and told me they had never had a parent leave like that before.
“My dad was one of a kind. He had a unique personality. He was stubborn and hard headed. He believed I should be at Kentucky and fortunately it all worked out.”
They reached an agreement where Tim would go to Kentucky but if year one did not go well under coach Bill Curry he could transfer to Tennessee.
“I called Dad halfway through the year and told him I was going to Tennessee. My brother called Tennessee and said I was transferring. They told me I could come, redshirt and then take over as the starter,” Couch said.
Kentucky went 4-7 in 1996, Couch’s freshman season and Curry’s last season. Athletics director C.M. Newton knew Couch was going to transfer and he asked Couch to give him time to find a coach that could better utilize his passing talents.
“I waited and he called me and said, ‘I got a guy, Hal Mumme.’ I wonder who is Hal Mumme. I had never heard of him or Valdosta State (where Mumme was coaching). But the first time I met him I knew it would work. He described his system and it looked like what I ran in high school. I told C.M. I was staying.
“I had so much confidence in coach Mumme. He made you believe in him. I knew we had the talent on the team to run that shotgun, spread offense. We just had not been able to go out and be the type of players we were.”
Couch said he was lucky not only to play for Mumme but assistant coach Mike Leach, Tony Franklin, Chris Hatcher and Sonny Dykes.
“Those guys were all great to me and they all went out and did great things,” Couch said. “That system is still thriving thanks to them and others using it now.”
Couch noted that successful NFL quarterback Patrick Mahomes, Jared Goff and Baker Mayfield are in systems with Air Raid tendencies.
“Coach Mumme and those guys at Kentucky were ahead of the times and that really benefited me,” Couch said. “It was a loose atmosphere but he (Mumme) would absolutely get on people. He had a great sense for when to push guys and when to back off. There were very few people then who believed in the Air Raid but we knew we could go into a game and light up people because we had one of the best offenses in the country.”
3 Responses
Any Big Blue fan with general knowledge of FB could have been successful if Hal Mummie was his OC and Bill Curry his DC.
Mummie was in his own league offense-wise. Stoops sure could have used him the past 10+ years instead of changing OC’s over and over and Uk would have racked up a few more 10 win seasons,
I was in about the 3rd row in the sideline near the goal line with an awesome brother watching Tim Couch complete SEVEN TD passes to set an SEC RECORD. Amazing – more than Steve Spurrier and many other great SEC QB. The 6th & especially the 7th were done even though every defender & every fan in Commonwealth Stadium knew every play would be a pass as Mummie wanted Couch to set that record.
The first UK football game that I ever went to in my life was an historic one–one of the biggest wins in UK football history: 1997–UK 40 ALABAMA 34 Couch-to-Yeast In OT!!! what a way to start! That was Mumme’s first season and the game that really put UK football on the map and put Mumme’s Air Raid system on the map. At the time, it was just such a shocking win after years and years of just being lousy. Nobody really expected it. That was the last season of the original Commonwealth Stadium–the very first renovations to the stadium came the next season, in 1998, when they first closed in the end zones and expanded seating capacity for the first time. But I got to see my first game in the original Commonwealth as it was originally built–and our seats were in one of the end zones, so I got to experience just one time the end zones when they were still open. The original scoreboards and facilities at the time looked more like a minor-league baseball park than a college fb stadium–that was way back long before facility upgrades and when KY was still a basement dweller in the SEC. and really, that Alabama win is the game that changed the trajectory of the UK football program forever. It put Couch, Mumme, the Air Raid, the team, and the program on the map forever going fwd, even tho at the time nobody had any idea. It was the dividing line between the old era and the modern era of KY football. That win did alot for what Mumme was trying to do for UK, and it led to an historic season in 1998, and set the stage for what Guy Morriss did a few yrs later, then Rich Brooks after that. It’s a game that every UK fan remembers, and always will. Its a special memory for me, and something I will always remember for the rest of my life. Other than the game-winning TD in OT of course, I believe the loudest I have ever heard Commonwealth stadium in my life was when Anwar Stewart scooped up a blocked Alabama FG and returned it for a TD, that I believe tied the game up in the 3rd qtr after BAMA was about to make it a 10-pt lead. It was the play that changed that whole game and put KY in position to have a legit chance to win. The second-loudest I have ever heard that stadium was in 2007 when Stevie Johnson ran into the end zone to upset LOU!!!! two memorable football moments for sure, and two of the biggest KY FB wins in history, and I was privileged to be there for both of them, not to mention running out onto the field to get a piece of the goalposts after they were over!!!
Thanks! It’s great to recall and share the thrilling memories of UK sports highlights!
I often recall various moments – such as sitting in the freezing cold in the end zone open bleachers at Stoll Field when Rick Norton would throw bullets to Tom Hutchinson. UK was no powerhouse, but it was Kentucky!