Tim Couch Timothy Scott Couch ( born July 31 , 1977 ) is a former American college and professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League ( NFL ) for five seasons . He played college football for the University of Kentucky and earned All - America honors . He was selected first overall by the Cleveland Browns in the 1999 NFL Draft , and he threw for over 11 , 000 passing yards during his NFL career . Early years . Couch was born in Hyden , Kentucky . As a prep quarterback at Leslie County High School in Leslie County , Kentucky , he set a number of national high school records — most pass completions ( 872 ) , passing yardage ( 12 , 104 ) , touchdown passes ( 132 ) , and passing percentage for a season ( 75 . 1 ) . Following his senior 1995 season , he was recognized as Kentucky ' s Mr . Football . ESPN ranked Couch as the No . 6 of the best high school athletes ever . Couch also starred on the Leslie County High School basketball varsity team . He scored 36 points per game as a junior , which was the highest average in the state . Couch scored 3 , 023 points in his career , which as of April 2010 is good for the 26th highest total in Kentucky state history . College career . Couch attended the University of Kentucky , where he played for the Kentucky Wildcats football team from 1996 to 1998 . During his 1996 freshman year under head coach Bill Curry , he split time as the starting quarterback with Billy Jack Haskins . Curry ' s firing was announced after a 1 - 6 start that season . Incoming head coach Hal Mumme announced early that Couch would be the starter in his new pass - oriented " Air Raid " offense . In 1997 , Couch set several school records as the previously anemic Kentucky offense topped national offensive rankings and finished 5 - 6 on the season , including a win over No . 20 Alabama . During the 1998 Wildcats season , Couch led Kentucky to seven wins ( including a win on the road at No . 21 LSU ) and a spot in the Outback Bowl ( in which Couch completed 30 of 48 passes for 336 yards and 2 touchdowns , though Kentucky lost to Penn State 26 - 14 ) . Following his junior season in 1998 , Couch announced he would leave Kentucky to enter the NFL draft early . Couch ' s career totals at Kentucky included completing 795 of 1 , 184 passes ( . 671 completion rate ) for 8 , 435 yards ( including 4 , 275 passing yards during the 1998 season alone ) and 74 touchdowns ( including a 97 - yard touchdown pass to Craig Yeast against Florida on September 26 , 1998 ) . Couch still holds the NCAA record for completion percentage in one game ( minimum of 40 completions ) at 83 . 0 % vs . Vanderbilt ( 44 of 53 ) in 1998 and for completions per game ( 36 . 4 , 400 in 11 games ) that same season . He also left Kentucky holding NCAA records for most completions in a season ( 400 in 1998 ) , most completions in a two - year period ( 793 in 1997 - 1998 ) , most completions per game in a two - year period ( 34 . 7 , 1997 – 1998 ) and career completion percentage ( 67 . 1 % ) . His 1998 records of 4 , 151 offensive yards in a season , 377 . 4 offensive yards per game and 4 , 275 passing yards , stood as Southeastern Conference records for years after his departure . NFL career . Couch ' s college success culminated in his selection as the number one overall selection in the NFL draft by the revived - Cleveland Browns in 1999 . Couch took over for Ty Detmer as the team ' s starting quarterback in the second game of his rookie season . The Browns front office had high expectations for Couch . Spokesperson John Schober was quoted in 2003 as saying the former Kentucky All - American would win at least six playoff games . But Couch was joining a team that had been hastily assembled in the wake of the former Browns squad moving to Baltimore three years earlier . He spent five seasons as a starting quarterback for Cleveland , eventually facing competition from journeyman backup Kelly Holcomb during his final two seasons . Couch ' s tenure in Cleveland ranged from leading the team to a playoff appearance , to boos and inconsistent play , which was partially a result of being constantly plagued by injuries . These injuries were due , in turn , to his exposure to pressure due to the expansion Browns ' inexperienced offensive line . He missed the final nine games of the 2000 season with a broken thumb . The high point of Couch ' s career came in 2002 , when he threw for 2 , 842 yards and 18 touchdowns in leading the upstart Browns to a 9 - 7 record and a playoff appearance . However , he suffered a broken leg in the final game of the regular season and was forced to watch as Holcomb threw for over 400 yards in a loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Wild Card round of the playoffs . This was the beginning of a quarterback controversy in Cleveland that would not be resolved until a year later when head coach Butch Davis tapped Holcomb as his starter . By the end of the 2003 season , after exhausting both quarterbacks with the rotation , it became clear that Davis , struggling with a 5 - 11 football team , would never give Couch the opportunity to start again . Couch is considered by Fox Sports to be one of the NFL ' s biggest draft busts in its history after being taken # 1 with high expectations only to falter through most of his career . Some attribute his pass - oriented college career to be a factor in his failure in the pros . Notable Moments and Achievements . Hail Mary Passes Couch had several notable moments for the Browns , including two " Hail Mary " passes . In 1999 against the New Orleans Saints , his last - second TD pass to Kevin Johnson gave the Browns their first win . Three seasons later , in Jacksonville he tossed a game - winning pass on the last play of the game to Quincy Morgan . Couch holds the distinction of being the only quarterback in NFL history to throw two game - winning passes of 50 yards or more with 0 : 00 left on the clock . Magical 2002 Season The Browns ' 2002 campaign was a special one . Although the 2001 Browns raised eyebrows with their defense , having recorded 43 sacks and a league - best 33 interceptions , the offense was once again moribund . The run game was pitiful and the offensive line was porous . At the start of the 2002 preseason , star linebacker Jamir Miller went down with a career - ending knee injury . However , the reincarnated " Kardiac Kids " , led by Couch , won 9 games , including five in the final two minutes and seven by 10 points or less , and made a wildcard playoff spot . Those thrillers included a 31 - 28 overtime win over Tennessee in which Couch threw for 326 yards and 3 TDs , a last minute TD and two - point conversion passes from Couch to Dennis Northcutt against the Jets , the " Hail Mary " against the Jaguars , and a final - minute TD drive against Baltimore where Couch threw a 1 - yard strike to tight end Mark Campbell after being pinned inside his own 5 - yard line with 0 timeouts and 1 : 30 left in regulation . All - Time Ranks Couch is the Browns ' all - time leader in pass completion percentage at 59 . 8 % . He also ranks 7th all - time in touchdown passes ( 64 ) , 6th in QB rating ( 75 . 1 ) , 4th in passing attempts ( 1 , 741 ) , 3rd in completions ( 1 , 025 ) , 5th in passing yards ( 11 , 131 ) . Couch still holds the franchise single - game record for pass completions ( 36 vs . Tennessee in 2002 ) and the rookie single - season record for passing touchdowns ( 15 ) . His rookie records for pass attempts ( 399 ) , pass completions ( 223 ) , passing yards ( 2 , 447 ) , and QB rating ( 73 . 2 ) were broken by Colt McCoy in 2010 and Brandon Weeden in 2012 . He was the Browns ' leading passer from 1999 - 2002 . Attempted comebacks . After the Browns released Couch in 2004 , Couch signed as a free agent with the Green Bay Packers . Couch went on to have a disappointing training camp , and was booed off the field by the Lambeau crowd during his limited preseason appearances . Couch struggled with a rotator cuff injury , that would eventually require surgery , and was sidelined for the entire year . Couch was released by the Packers during their final cutdown to 53 players prior to the season . Couch filed a grievance with the NFL Players Union against the Packers because they failed to attempt an injury settlement prior to his release . After undergoing shoulder surgery in February 2005 , Couch auditioned for the Chicago Bears midway through the 2005 season and the Cincinnati Bengals in December 2005 . The Bears observed that his arm was not back to NFL shape during their workout and did not sign him . The Bengals did not pursue Couch , although Jon Kitna was not resigned after his contract expired in early 2006 . Couch participated in tryouts with the Tennessee Titans in January 2006 . He also had workouts with the Miami Dolphins , Pittsburgh Steelers and the Houston Texans . All three teams stated that despite good workouts , they were not interested in pursuing him . Couch ended up missing the entire 2006 season due to another shoulder surgery , late June 2006 . ESPN reported on Friday , July 20 , 2007 , that Tim Couch had contacted all 32 NFL teams to see if any teams were interested in him for the 2007 - 2008 season . On July 29 , 2007 Couch agreed to a two - year contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars . Couch was brought in to compete for the 3rd string quarterback position with Quinn Gray and Lester Ricard . He played in one preseason game against the Miami Dolphins and was 2 - of - 4 for 11 yards . On August 18 , Couch failed to make the 3rd string and was released . The next week , the Jaguars released former starter Byron Leftwich and Lester Ricard , leaving them without a 3rd string quarterback . Drug allegations . On August 28 , 2007 , Yahoo ! Sports reported that Couch , while attempting to recover from a second shoulder surgery , took anabolic steroids and human growth hormone as part of his daily regimen , both banned by the NFL . Despite Couch ' s statements that he never took any illegal steroids , he admitted being administered HGH for about a week . Yahoo ! Sports reported it had obtained documents from an anonymous source with Couch ' s name printed across the top that called for extensive use of drugs banned by the league . Yahoo ! Sports also claimed to have received documents showing steroid prescriptions had been filled in Couch ' s name at a pharmacy in New York . Couch initially said he had no reservations about working with someone who endorsed the use of drugs banned by the NFL " because if I ' m not doing it , I ' m not really concerned . … It ' s no big deal to me . " However , during Couch ' s attempted come - back with the Jaguars he put on 35 pounds of muscle and dropped his body fat to 4 % . Couch also claims that he passed a drug test prior to his signing with the Jaguars . Although he was released by Jacksonville during the 2007 preseason and was not signed by any other teams , the NFL banned Couch for six games during the 2007 season for violating its drug policy . Personal life . Couch is married to Playboy Playmate Heather Kozar . Broadcasting career . Couch currently works for Fox Sports South as an analyst on the weekly show " SEC Gridiron Live " . He also serves as the color analyst for the SEC Regional Network football package , typically found on Fox Sports Net affiliates in most SEC territories . Current affiliates include Sun Sports , Fox Sports South , Fox Sports Southwest Plus , Fox Sports Houston , Fox Sports Midwest Plus , Fox Sports North Plus , and Fox Sports San Diego .