Tim Couch, three others with Kentucky ties on College Football Hall of Fame ballot
Former University of Kentucky quarterback Tim Couch was among four former athletes or coaches with ties to the commonwealth whose names appear on the 2021 College Football Hall of Fame ballot.
The National Football Foundation on Tuesday announced the 78 players and seven coaches from major college football who are up for selection to the Atlanta-based Hall of Fame. There also are 99 players and 33 coaches from outside the highest level of college football eligible for induction.
Former Eastern Kentucky tailback Markus Thomas, ex-Western Kentucky head coach Jimmy Feix and former Georgia cornerback Champ Bailey (born in Fort Campbell, Ky.) are also on the ballot.
The College Hall of Fame class of 2021 will be announced early next year.
Couch first appeared on the Hall of Fame ballot in 2014. If voted in, Couch would become Kentucky’s sixth College Football Hall of Famer, joining Bob Gain, Steve Meilinger, Lou Michaels, Babe Parilli and Art Still.
Couch, who was born in Hyden and played high school football at Leslie County, played for UK from 1996-98. An All-America selection after his junior season, Couch became the No. 1 pick in the 1999 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns.
Couch, a Heisman Trophy finalist, set several school records. He completed 795 of 1,184 career passes for 8,435 yards and 74 touchdowns.
Thomas finished his EKU career ranked third all-time in Football Championship Subdivision history in rushing (5,149 yards) and scored 52 career touchdowns. He was a two-time Ohio Valley Conference Offensive Player of the Year and led the Colonels to two conference titles.
Feix is the winningest coach in WKU history. He was named Kodak College Coach of the Year for Division II in 1973 and 1975. His teams won or shared six conference titles, and Feix was a three-time conference Coach of the Year (1973, 1978, 1980.
Bailey, on the ballot for the first time, was the Nagurski Award winner as the nation’s best defensive player in 1998, while also playing receiver and returning kicks for the Bulldogs.
Some other notable players on the ballot for the first time are defensive end Dwight Freeney of Syracuse, running back Darren Sproles of Kansas State, kickers Sebastian Janikowski of Florida State and Luis Zendejas of Arizona State, and quarterback Ken Dorsey from Miami. Former Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops is also up for induction for the first time.
Heisman Trophy winners Carson Palmer from Southern California and Rashaan Salaam from Colorado are among those returning to the ballot. Another returnee is Chris Parker, a 1995 First Team All-American at Marshall.
Hall reopening
The College Football Hall of Fame announced Tuesday that it plans to reopen July 1 with a new exhibit featuring historically black colleges and universities.
The Atlanta museum closed in mid-March because of the coronavirus pandemic. The reopening was delayed after the facility sustained damage May 29 during protests over the death of George Floyd. The glass facade was shattered and merchandise was stolen from the street-front gift shop, but no exhibits or artifacts were damaged.
The new HBCU exhibit will focus on their history, traditions and Hall of Fame players and coaches. There will also be a special section dedicated to Georgia’s HBCUs, the Celebration Bowl and kick-off games between the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference and Southwestern Athletic Conference. The museum is also planning a second exhibit that will open next year during Black History Month.