Wan’Dale Robinson will be the 13th Mr. Football to play at UK. How did the others do?
If you’re a superstitious Kentucky fan, knowing that Wan’Dale Robinson is the 13th former Mr. Football winner from the state to play for the Wildcats might be off-putting.
Fret not. The history of former Mr. Footballs who’ve suited up for UK isn’t all roses, but generally those who came to Kentucky succeeded at a high level. Let’s reflect on the accomplishments of the previous 12 who did so.
Pookie Jones (1989)
An official Mr. Football was not recognized before 1986, when Frank Jacobs became the state’s first honoree, and it wasn’t until Jones that an award-winner would play at Kentucky. The former Calloway County standout started three years at quarterback for Kentucky (1991-1993) and also played baseball in Lexington. He was drafted by the Colorado Rockies in the 14th round of Major League Baseball’s 1994 amateur draft and signed with Colorado instead of playing his final season at UK, which he helped lead to a 6-6 record and a Peach Bowl appearance the year before.
After college, Jones spent three seasons in the minor leagues before a brief stint in the Canadian Football League. Until last season, Jones was the all-time leading career rusher among UK quarterbacks with at least 400 passing attempts. He ranks ninth all-time in career total offense at the school.
Final UK stats: 3,459 passing yards (263 of 504), 16 touchdowns; 854 rushing yards (367 carries), 13 touchdowns.
Damon Hood (1990)
A product of Warren Central High School in Bowling Green, Hood spent most of his career playing alongside a running quarterback in Jones and Moe Williams, one of the best running backs to ever play at Kentucky. Still, he cracked 1,000 yards for his career and scored nine times in four varsity seasons with the Wildcats from 1991-1994. He ranks 33rd all-time in career rushing at the school.
Hood’s single-best performance came during his senior season, when he rushed for 108 yards in a 20-14 win against Louisville, UK’s only victory of the 1994 campaign.
Final UK stats: 1,144 rushing yards (281 carries), 9 touchdowns; 159 receiving yards (23 receptions).
Billy Jack Haskins (1992)
One need not look much further than Haskins when examining how much football has changed in the last 30 years. Coming out of Paducah Tilghman, Haskins had thrown for more yards (6,753) than any quarterback in Kentucky high school history; there are now 63 names ahead of him in the Kentucky High School Athletic Association’s record book, including three other Mr. Football winners.
Haskins started in 1995 and 1996, and was a team captain in the latter season, but a coaching change (Hal Mumme replaced Bill Curry) and a future NFL quarterback on the bench combined to bring an early end to Haskins’ time in Lexington. Haskins spent his final college season at Rhode Island.
Final UK stats: 2,181 passing yards (191 of 341), 9 touchdowns; 183 rushing yards (191 carries), 6 touchdowns.
Tim Couch (1995)
Starting with Couch, the most decorated Mr. Football winner in our state’s history, four straight recipients signed with Kentucky out of high school. He was a heralded recruit coming out of Leslie County High School who went on to become a Heisman Trophy finalist and the No. 1 overall pick in the 1999 NFL Draft. As of 2020, he remains the most recent Kentucky player to be named Southeastern Conference Player of the Year.
After splitting reps with Haskins in 1996, Couch took the reins full time and led UK to a 12-11 record over his sophomore and junior seasons. UK qualified for the Outback Bowl following the 1998 campaign, its first New Year’s Day bowl appearance in 47 years. Couch after that season declared for the NFL Draft, and he was selected first overall by the Cleveland Browns, for whom he played five seasons.
He finished his career as UK’s all-time passing leader (two quarterbacks have since passed him) and still holds many Kentucky records, including best completion percentage for a career (67.1).
Final UK stats: 8,435 passing yards (795 of 1,184), 74 touchdowns; -275 rushing yards (154 carries), 4 touchdowns.
Derek Homer (1996)
A product of Fort Knox, Homer left the prep ranks as the state’s all-time leader in rushing yards (8,224, still second all time) and touchdowns (110, still third all time). He had similar success at UK, where he currently sits 15th all time in career rushing and also ranks high in career receptions (11) and receiving yardage (28).
Homer posted four 100-yard rushing games in his UK career, and also has the distinction of being one of just five freshmen in school history to have a 100-yard receiving game. Homer spent some time with the Baltimore Ravens prior to some other professional football opportunities outside the NFL.
Final UK stats: 1,689 rushing yards (353 carries), 11 touchdowns; 1,052 receiving yards (129 receptions), 2 touchdowns.
Dennis Johnson (1997)
Johnson was a multi-sport standout for tiny Harrodsburg High School, which has since consolidated into Mercer County, and which he led to consecutive appearances in the Class A state championship game (1996 and 1997). Two seasons in which the defensive end was an All-SEC selection (second team in 1999, first team in 2001) sandwiched a lost year due to an ankle injury while he was at UK. Football News deemed him an All-America player in 2001.
He opted to not use his final year of eligibility at Kentucky and was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals in the third round of the 2001 NFL Draft. Johnson played two seasons with the Cardinals and was briefly with the San Francisco 49ers before pursuing other professional football opportunities. He now is the athletics director and football coach at Woodford County High School.
Final UK stats: 128 tackles, 28 tackles for loss, 19 sacks, 7 forced fumbles, 3 fumble recoveries, 1 blocked kick.
Jared Lorenzen (1998)
His unique size for the position combined with his level of play made the late Kentucky quarterback a fan favorite during and well beyond his playing career. He arrived at UK to great fanfare after leading Highlands High School, one of the state’s premier programs, to a Class 3A championship in 1998.
Lorenzen was an All-SEC second-team selection by the Associated Press and coaches in 2002. He still holds multiple offensive records, including: most career offensive plays (1,793), total career yards (10,637), most completions (862) and most passing attempts (1,514). Lorenzen signed as an undrafted free agent with the New York Giants in 2004 and was part of the Giants’ 2007 team that won a Super Bowl.
Final UK stats: 10,354 passing yards (862 of 1,514), 78 touchdowns; 283 rushing yards (279 carries), 12 touchdowns; 6 punts for 192 yards.
Travis Atwell (1999)
Atwell began his post-high school career at Toledo as a quarterback, but a coaching change (Gary Pinkel left for Missouri) prompted a transfer to UK, where he converted to safety. He ultimately only played one season for the Wildcats, in 2002, due to injury.
Hancock County made its only state final with Atwell as its quarterback in 1999. He threw for 2,486 yards and 34 touchdowns and ran for 2,308 yards and 38 touchdowns for the Hornets that season. He also played safety that year, compiling 11 interceptions. He was an honorable mention All-American by USA Today.
Final UK stats: 21 tackles, 1 interception (14 return yards), 1 forced fumble.
Curtis Pulley (2004)
Pulley was a two-way standout at Hopkinsville, where he played quarterback and safety, and served in a variety of roles in two seasons at Kentucky. Pulley saw time at quarterback, wide receiver and special teams.
He was a backup to Andre Woodson for two seasons before taking a redshirt season in 2007. Pulley attempted to win the starting quarterback job going into the 2008 season but was dismissed from the team prior in August of that year due to multiple off-the-field issues. He ended up at Florida A&M, where he excelled for two years was the Rattlers’ starting quarterback.
Final UK stats: 280 passing yards (39 of 64); 273 rushing yards (72 carries), 3 touchdowns; 220 receiving yards (23 receptions), 1 touchdown; 2 blocked kicks.
Micah Johnson (2005)
Johnson was a linebacker and running back for Fort Campbell his junior and senior seasons after beginning his prep career in Virginia. Considered the top linebacker in the nation by ESPN, Johnson was a U.S. Army All-American Bowl participant who signed with Kentucky over offers from Georgia, Michigan and Notre Dame.
He played right away at Kentucky, where he finished as an All-SEC Second Team selection in 2009 after leading the team in tackles (105) that season. Johnson was part of teams that went 3-1 over the course of four straight bowl games. After spending parts of four seasons in the NFL, mostly on practice squads, Johnson went north to the Canadian Football League, where he won two Grey Cups with the Calgary Stampeders (2014 and 2018). The three-time CFL All-Star now plays for the BC Lions.
Final UK stats: 285 tackles (161 solo), 23.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, 2 interceptions (45 return yards), 1 touchdown (interception return), 1 forced fumble.
Patrick Towles (2011)
The second Mr. Football winner out of Highlands to play at UK, Towles guided the Bluebirds to three straight championships (2009-2011) before signing with the Wildcats. He was a four-star recruit according to 247Sports and Rivals, and was regarded as a top-10 quarterback prospect in the 2011 class.
Towles played some as a true freshman before a redshirt season in 2013. He was Kentucky’s starter in 2014 and 2015 but played at Boston College in 2016 as a graduate transfer. Towles’ final two seasons at UK were the most recent ones in which the Wildcats did not qualify for the postseason; they finished just short at 5-7 both years.
Final UK stats: 5,099 passing yards (427 of 759), 24 touchdowns; 353 rushing yards (231 carries), 11 touchdowns.
Kash Daniel (2015)
Daniel is the most recent Mr. Football to play for the Wildcats, and arguably the winner who most embraced being one of Kentucky’s own. He arrived from Paintsville, a tiny school situated in eastern Kentucky, and he didn’t let anyone forget it with his attitude on and away from the field.
He was part of a transformative recruiting class that helped ignite and sustain a bowl-appearance streak that has extended to five games under current head coach Mark Stoops. Daniel played in 51 of a possible 52 games during his time at UK. Injuries and controversy somewhat disrupted his career down the stretch, but he finished his career having been a part of 32 victories, the most in a four-year span by any senior class since a stretch from 1949-1952.
Final UK stats: 168 tackles (121 solo), 11.5 tackles for loss, 7 quarterback hurries, 4 pass break-ups, 1 interception, 1 sack.
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