BY NEIL SCHMIDT
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Greater Cincinnatians won't have to look far to find Tim Couch's potential successor as Kentucky quarterback.
Jared Lorenzen, Highlands' record-setting quarterback, has scheduled a news conference for 1 p.m. Wednesday at the school to announce his college choice. Sources confirm he will pick the Wildcats.
UK coach Hal Mumme has said he'll sign only one QB this year, and he has coveted Lorenzen since early last fall. Lorenzen passed for a Northern Kentucky-record 2,759 yards and 37 touchdowns in 13 games last season -- his first as a starter -- and entered play Friday with 999 passing yards and 12 TDs in four games.
The 6-foot-4, 240-pound senior admitted for months UK was No. 1 on his list. He ultimately picked it over Michigan State, Alabama, Miami (Fla.) and Miami (Ohio).
With Couch's future uncertain -- he has been noncommittal about returning -- Lorenzen could find UK's starting job vacant next fall. Sophomore Dusty Bonner, who played in eight games last year (10 of 14 passing for 114 yards) but will likely redshirt this fall, would seem to be his primary competition.
"It would help if Couch stayed," Lorenzen told the Enquirer two weeks ago. "That way I could learn underneath him. But if he does leave, that would kind of put me in the mix for (the starting spot).
"It's a challenge for anybody to step in after Couch. I'd like to take the challenge."
