20 most hyped college football recruits of all-time
By Dustin Hull
11. Tim Couch
For as many of the hyped recruits Kentucky brings in year-after-year for its basketball team, Tim Couch coming in to play football for the Wildcats just might’ve topped them all.
Holding state records in career passing yards, touchdown passes, and completions, Couch was easily the most hyped recruit Kentucky ever landed. It was thought that he alone could provide much-needed attention to a football program that was a perennial loser.
Couch could’ve gone to several more prestigious colleges, and was also Mr. Basketball in Kentucky. He scored over 36 points-per-game in one of his high school seasons but chose football at the basketball-rich school. He was labeled the next John Elway, a better recruit than even Peyton Manning was thought to be at the time by many scouts, and better than another highly touted recruit from a few years’ prior, Jeff George.
Couch would certainly hold up as a great prospect, but Kentucky never rose to any great significance under Couch. He would perform well enough to earn himself the choice at number one in the 1999 NFL Draft, but he wouldn’t be nearly as successful playing on Sundays.
Next: Jadeveon Clowney