Tim Couch

Book excerpt: In a state where basketball is the established religion and kids dream of someday playing the game for the University of Kentucky, Tim Couch had a different dream. It was hidden away, deep in the "hills and hollers" surrounding tiny Hyden, Kentucky (pop. 250), but it blossomed into a reality that would shake the consciousness of the entire commonwealth. That this dream was in football, and would make Couch one of Kentucky's most prominent and admired sports heroes in history, makes his story all the more compelling. In becoming the national prep player of the year, in reviving UK's football program and leading it to its first New Year's Day bowl game since the 1950s, and in becoming the No. 1 NFL draft pick of 1999, Tim Couch answered his doubters every step of the way.