Tim Couch

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Tim Couch
Date of birth	July 31, 1977 (age 29)
Place of birth	Hyden, Kentucky
Height	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight	235 lb (107 kg)
Position(s)	Quarterback
College	Kentucky
NFL Draft	1999 / Round 1 / Pick 1
Stats
Statistics	Pro Football Reference DatabaseFootball
Team(s)
1999-2003	Cleveland Browns

Timothy Scott Couch (born July 31, 1977 in Hyden, Kentucky) is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League. He was a standout Heisman Trophy finalist in 1998 playing for the University of Kentucky, and was the number one selection in the 1999 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns. He later played in the pre-season for the Green Bay Packers.

1 High school career
2 College career
3 NFL career
4 References
5 External links

[edit] High school career

As a prep quarterback at Leslie County High School, Couch set a number of national high school records — most pass completions (872), passing yardage (12,104), touchdown passes (133), and passing percentage for a season (75.1). Recruiting analyst Tom Lemming called Couch the best quarterback prospect since John Elway. ESPN ranked Couch as the #6 of the best high school athletes ever.^[1]

Couch also stared on the Leslie County HS basketball varsity. He scored 36 ppg as a junior, tops in the state, and was named Kentucky's Mr. Basketball.

[edit] College career

The highly recruited Couch decided to play at the University of Kentucky. During his freshman year (1996) under head coach Bill Curry, Couch split time as the starting quarterback with Billy Jack Haskins. Curry's firing was announced after a 1-6 start that season. Incoming head coach Hal Mumme announced early that Couch would be the starter in his new pass-oriented "Air Raid" offense. In 1997 Couch set several school records as the previously-anemic Kentucky offense topped national offensive rankings and finished 5-6 on the season, including a win over #20 Alabama. In 1998 Couch led Kentucky to seven wins (including a win on the road at #21 LSU) and a spot in the Outback Bowl (in which Couch completed 30 of 48 passes for 336 yards and 2 touchdowns, though Kentucky lost to Penn State 26-14.).

Following his junior season in 1998, Couch announced he would leave Kentucky to enter the NFL draft early.

Couch's career totals at Kentucky included completing 795 of 1,184 passes (.671 completion rate) for 8,435 yards (including 4,275 passing yards during the 1998 season alone) and 74 touchdowns (including a 97 yard touchdown pass to Craig Yeast against Florida on September 26, 1998). Couch still holds the NCAA record for completion percentage in one game (minimum of 40 completions) at 83.0% vs. Vanderbilt (44 of 53) in 1998 and for completions per game (36.4, 400 in 11 games) that same season. He also left Kentucky holding NCAA records for most completions in a season (400 in 1998), most completions in a two year period (763 in 1997-1998), most completions per game in a two year period (34.7, 1997-1998) and career completion percentage (67.1%). His 1998 records of 4,151 offensive yards in a season, 377.4 offensive yards per game and 4,275 passing yards stood as Southeastern Conference records for years after his departure.

[edit] NFL career

Couch's college success culminated in his selection as the number one overall selection in the NFL draft by the Cleveland Browns. Couch took over for Ty Detmer as the team's starting quarterback in the second game of his rookie season. He went on to spend five seasons as a starting quarterback for Cleveland, eventually facing competition from journeyman backup Kelly Holcomb during his final two seasons.

Football analysts point to Couch's problems early in his career with the Browns as a textbook case of how not to handle a young quarterback.^{[citation needed]} Mistakes included repeatedly switching head coaches and offensive systems, failing to provide an NFL-caliber offensive line, pulling him into and out of the starting lineup, and otherwise failing to provide consistent instruction and environment. Couch's tenure in Cleveland was marked by inconsistent play, which was partially a result of being constantly plagued by injuries. He missed the final nine games of the 2000 season with a shoulder injury. He broke his leg just prior to the end of the 2002 regular season, being replaced by Holcomb, who threw for over 400 yards against the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Wild Card round of the playoffs. This was the beginning of a quarterback controversy in Cleveland that would not be resolved until a year later. By the end of the 2003 season, after exhausting both quarterbacks with the rotation,[1]it became clear that then-head coach Butch Davis, struggling with a 5-11 football team, would never give Couch the opportunity to start again. At this point, Davis lured former San Francisco quarterback Jeff Garcia to Cleveland and handed him the starting role.

[edit] His release

In 2004, after Couch refused to take a pay cut, the Browns released him, but not before banning him from the Browns training facilities and preventing him from practicing with the team. Couch signed as a free agent with the Green Bay Packers soon afterward. Heading into Packer's training camp, Couch struggled with a rotator cuff injury that would eventually sideline him indefinitely from football. Couch went on to have a disappointing training camp and was booed off the field by the Lambeau crowd during his limited preseason appearances.[2] He was released by the Packers during their final cutdown to 53 players prior to the season. Couch filed a grievance with the NFL Players Union against the Packers because they failed to attempt an injury settlement prior to his release.

[edit] Attempted comeback

After undergoing shoulder surgery in February 2005, Couch auditioned for the Chicago Bears midway through the 2005 season and the Cincinnati Bengals in December 2005. The Bears noticed his arm was not nearly back to NFL shape during their workout and subsequently did not sign him. The Bengals did not pursue Couch, although Jon Kitna was not resigned after his contract expired in early 2006. Couch participated in tryouts with the Tennessee Titans as late as January 2006. He has also been to work outs with the Miami Dolphins, Pittsburgh Steelers and the Houston Texans. All three teams have stated that despite good workouts, they are not interested in pursuing him. Tim Couch missed the entire 2006-2007 season due to another shoulder surgery late June of 2006[3]. It is unknown if he will attempt another comeback in 2007.

[edit] Personal

Couch is married to the 1999 Playboy Playmate of the Year, Heather Kozar. He and his wife have a son together, Chase Scott Couch, who was born on August 5, 2005.

Preceded by Shaun Alexander	Kentucky Mr. Football 1995	Succeeded by Derek Homer
Preceded by Billy Jack Haskins	University of Kentucky Starting Quarterback 1997-1998	Succeeded by Dusty Bonner
Preceded by Peyton Manning	1st Overall Pick in NFL Draft 1999	Succeeded by Courtney Brown
Preceded by Ty Detmer	Cleveland Browns Starting Quarterbacks 1999-2003	Succeeded by Kelly Holcomb