I just read where, at the time, he was considered the 6th best high school athlete ever. So yeah, he qualified as a 5 star easy.Was Couch even rated a 5 star? I mean don't get me wrong I know he was extremely talented, I just don't know if the recruiting services rated him 4 or 5. I was in school back then and the internet wasn't as robust so I don't even know if the recruiting stuff worked like that then.
If Couch had played for someone like Trinity or St. X or one of the Lexington Power schools, he would have been an even bigger name than he was. Brian Brohm was on the cover of Sports Illustrated if I recall. In terms of stature though, Couch's High School accolades put him up there with the likes of Herschel Walker, Bo Jackson, Peyton Manning, etc. Granted he wasn't able to have the kind of pro career he could have, had he been drafted to a better team, but Couch was a legend and would have certainly garnered a 5 star ranking. He was essentially the top recruit nationally.I just read where, at the time, he was considered the 6th best high school athlete ever. So yeah, he qualified as a 5 star easy.
Dude was phenomenal at Leslie.
They didn't have star rankings back then like they do now, but he was widely considered the #1 recruit in the nation.Was Couch even rated a 5 star? I mean don't get me wrong I know he was extremely talented, I just don't know if the recruiting services rated him 4 or 5. I was in school back then and the internet wasn't as robust so I don't even know if the recruiting stuff worked like that then.
...And to think he chose Curry/Uzelac (sp?) to run an option...pitifulThey didn't have star rankings back then like they do now, but he was widely considered the #1 recruit in the nation.
Oh I knew he was highly sought after, I'm just answering the OP question, not sure UK has ever had a QB that was rated at 5 stars until now. Couch would certainly qualify if he had those services, but I didn't think (and others have confirmed) they didn't have that system then.They didn't have star rankings back then like they do now, but he was widely considered the #1 recruit in the nation.
Well he had Mumme and the Air Raid....And to think he chose Curry/Uzelac (sp?) to run an option...pitiful
But he committed to the other regime.Well he had Mumme and the Air Raid.
I'm pretty sure that one recruiting service had Morgan Newton as a 5-star. Might have been Scout?Was thinking Morton Newgan and Andre Woodson were both rated highly by at least 1 service
If not for Couch we would have had a couple of more seasons of Curry. His threat of transferring prompted Curry getting fired....And to think he chose Curry/Uzelac (sp?) to run an option...pitiful
After having to be begged to stay. Couch was almost a Vol. Think about that and how lucky we were to have him.Well he had Mumme and the Air Raid.
I remember thinking it was some kind of coup for us to land both Newton and Mossakowski in the same class. My how badly that backfired on us. Still wonder how good Moss would have been if not for the shoulder injury.I'm pretty sure that one recruiting service had Morgan Newton as a 5-star. Might have been Scout?
I don't believe Andre Woodson was ever a 5-star, but he was regarded as a high 4-star.
Ryan Mossakowski was highly regarded too. I don't remember if he had 5-star status for a period of time, but he was definitely a high 4.
They didn't have star rankings back then like they do now, but he was widely considered the #1 recruit in the nation.
Wasn't that real big lineman out of KY a 5* that never panned out?
OP didn't ask if UK has ever had a 5 star, he asked 5 star QB.Wasn't that real big lineman out of KY a 5* that never panned out?
My favorite magazine growing up in the 80's and 90's was Street and Smith and I loved reading the high school payer rankings in there.Well, recruiting “sites” were frequently printed magazines, widely available in the Deep South, and the “Star” rating system was beginning in the mid-nineties.
I bought a recruiting pub in Bama whilst on vacation, the Summer prior to Couch’s Senior season. He was rated a Five Star, and was on the cover.
There were more than 400 players mentioned/rated, most in very fine print. Only 5 of those listed UK as a possible destination, Couch included.
Those who were not alive or fans in 1995/96 have no idea how big Couch “blew up,” especially after breaking Josh Booty’s high school passing record at Emanuel Christian in Louisiana (the record set as I recall in 1994).
There were local and even regional 30 minute television programs about Couch and his recruitment that aired in Kentucky and Tennessee, etc. Paul Hornung (America’s “Golden Boy,” and graduate of Flaguette HS in Louisville, and Heisman winner at Notre Dame in ‘57, ) called Couch the best HS recruit since Joe Namath, more than 30 years prior.
Leslie County opened the ‘95 season in Lexington, I think at Bryon Station or Henry Clay. I talked my girlfriend into dinner and attending the first half of the game. A guy from California sat next to us in a sold out stadium. Late in the first quarter, he pulled out the first “flip” phone I had seen, phoned someone, telling them, “he’s everything they have said he is and more.”
The recruitment of Dennis Johnson, the consensus Defensive POY in 97/98 was high profile, but dims in comparison to the frenzy that followed Couch his Junior and Senior seasons.
I will always believe Couch’s December, 1995 commitment to Kentucky served as a “watershed” moment in the history of Kentucky football: we’ve had our struggles since, but such a high profile player at Kentucky put the program briefly on the map . . . perhaps just enough for Rich Brooks and a young Stoops to take notice of the program, and it’s possibilities.
I think you can thank his dad for that....And to think he chose Curry/Uzelac (sp?) to run an option...pitiful
Mainly because he's hardly seen the field. They have nothing to base an evaluation on at the collegiate level. Leary was regarded as the best QB transfer by some last year but we all know how that panned out, but that lofty ranking was mainly due to him being experienced and generally successful at NC State.VDG was a 5* out of high school. Portal rankings have him in the low 4 to high 3 range as a transfer based on position rank.
He isn’t a highly ranked transfer prospect.
I'm just trying to think of that guys name. Big giant white kids from KYOP didn't ask if UK has ever had a 5 star, he asked 5 star QB.
Matt Elam.I'm just trying to think of that guys name. Big giant white kids from KY