Tim Couch waved to the Kroger Field crowd at his Hall of Fame ceremony. (Vicky Graff Photo)
Matthew Sign remembers being part of the CBS Sports crew with Verne Lindquist and Todd Blackledge when they did a number of Kentucky football games when Tim Couch was quarterback under coach Hal Mumme at Kentucky.
“I would sit in on Friday meetings with players and coaches. Tim was great. He was always a joy to talk to,” Sign said.
He had not talked to Couch again until last week when both were in Lexington. Sign is chief operating officer of the National Football Foundation and Couch is being inducted in the NFF Hall of Fame. Sign presented Couch with a Hall of Fame plaque during an on-campus salute during the UK-Georgia game (the official induction will be in Las Vegas Dec. 10).
Sign, a four-year starting nose guard at Rice and former all-Southwest Conference player, said Couch’s induction is a no-brainer.
“His stats quickly tell you he is Hall of Fame worthy. You get in the Hall of Fame by being a first-team All-American that gets you into the screening process and then on the ballot,” Sign said. “Tim was a guy who stood out for a lot more than just his stats. What he did for Kentucky football and the state of Kentucky and college football in general was amazing. Hal Mumme had a great offense suited to Tim’s skills but he still needed a leader and Tim was a great leader.”
Sign remembered that while Couch, who had a statue unveiled at the Leslie County High School football complex last week, was putting up huge numbers for UK, Florida was doing the same under coach Steve Spurrier.
“Steve had a different approach than Mumme and that is why it was so fascinating at that time. Hal and Tim showed you could turn a program around with this offense and did it,” Sign said. “It’s great to have that coach and offense but if you don’t have a quarterback to run it and lead the offense, it still will not work.
“That is a big part of Tim’s legacy. He’s not just a great quarterback but he truly was a great leader when you think back to what he did for Kentucky.”
Couch threw for a SEC record 4,275 yards and 36 touchdowns in 1998 when he was SEC Player of the Year and finished fourth in the Heisman Trophy balloting. He set seven NCAA records, including single-game completion percentage (83 percent), single-season completions (400) and career completion percentage (67.1 percent). He became the No. 1 pick in the 1999 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Brown.
Sign admits he did not envision Couch, one of 19 players in this year’s Hall of Fame class, as a future Hall of Famer when he was covering UK games.
“But when you beat Alabama for the first time in 75 years, get your team to a New Year’s Day Bowl and get on national television, you are doing Hall of Fame things,” Sign said. “He chose to stay home in Kentucky to play and everybody benefited from it.
“This is a huge honor. Every year over 1,500 players are eligible for induction and only a few are selected. You have to be 10 years clear of your last college game, not playing professionally, be nominated by your school, make the screening cut and then get the percentage of votes needed to be inducted. Ninety-nine percent of players don’t make it. I think it might be the toughest Hall of Fame to get in.”
That’s part of why the NFF likes the on-campus presentation to give hometown fans a chance to honor the Hall of Fame recipient.
“It kind of gives the player two bites of the apple. This way they get recognition on the field where they were great in front of fans and family and then again at our official ceremony in Las Vegas,” Sign said. “This really gave Tim a chance to see the appreciation from the fans who appreciate what he accomplished and did for Kentucky football.
“I get to do four or five of these a year and they are just special. I was with Alex Smith of Utah the first week of the season and he had tears in his eyes. The ovations are that meaningful even to Hall of Famers and I am just glad that I got to be in Lexington for Tim’s presentation.”
3 Responses
Great article! Great player! Great person!
Too bad Couch had to go to Cleveland who did not have a 1/2 decent OL for years and years.
Being at his game wheee he threw an SEC record 7 TD passes in the Air Raid days, when the opponent knew he would be passing again and again for the 6th & 7th TDs, but still completes them one after another, is a memory I can still visualize.
He was a great quarterback,and sad that he spent his pro years running for his life,behind a terrible O line that could not give him time to throw the ball .He looks like he could play right now.It was fun watching him play.
Right on all counts Gregory