Tamme makes most of second shot at Kentucky

LEXINGTON, Ky. - It took every ounce of pride and machismo for Jacob Tamme not to weep the day he learned his dream of playing football for the University of Kentucky had been snatched away from him.

Society has conditioned us to believe that grown men, much less strapping teenage boys who excel in athletics aren't supposed to cry so as Tamme sat on a bench at Boyle County High School digesting the news, he refused to break down.

Before Tamme could give former Kentucky coach Guy Morriss an oral commitment, senior wide receiver Keenan Burton had already told Morriss he was on board.

Because of scholarship limitations, Morriss told Tamme he couldn't take another wideout.

"I was absolutely devastated," said Tamme, now a senior tight end for the Wildcats. "I knew that I had a chance to come here.

"I knew that I waited a split second too long and so when I got the news, I was crushed. I sat on a bench at my high school, just sitting there, trying not to cry. It was true. I knew that this is where I wanted to be."

Most players who are accustomed to winning in high school long to go to college where there is a reasonable expectation that they can continue enjoying the same success which makes Tamme's utter devotion to UK even more unique.

After going 58-2 and winning four consecutive state championships at Boyle County, Tamme wanted nothing more than to become a Wildcat despite being well-versed in the team's not-so glorious past.

"I think that I wanted to make a difference for this state," Tamme said. "Because I knew growing up here how much people loved football.

"Everybody talks about it being a basketball state and we have a great basketball program, but everyone has wanted football to succeed for so long. Everyone has been champing at the bit for this program to excel so I wanted to be a part of that. Hopefully we can continue to do that."

Five years after Tamme got a second chance at becoming a Wildcat thanks to current coach Rich Brooks, he has been instrumental in turning his vision for the football program into a reality.

The 6-foot-5 former wide receiver has 28 receptions for 304 yards and a career-high four touchdowns this season.

He ranks second in Kentucky history for career receptions by a tight end and was named to the all-SEC first team last season.

The Wildcats (7-4, 3-4 SEC) play host to Tennessee (5-2, 8-3) on Saturday. Kentucky was ranked as high as No. 7 before losing to Florida on Oct. 20 and up until last Saturday had a shot of winning its first league title since 1976 and only the third in school history.

Just the fact that Kentucky beat No. 1 LSU shows just how far the team has come, but it is not a surprise to Tamme, who thought all along that the Wildcats would be good enough one day to earn national recognition.

"A lot of people would never put the words (Kentucky and national champion) in the same sentence, but that hasn't ever been our mind-set coming into this year," Tamme said. "In the summer, I said that if we brought our best game for 12 games then we could win a national championship.

"We've always believed that."

His belief that he belonged at Kentucky and persistence helped get him here.

During Tamme's senior year of high school, Morriss resigned to become the head coach at Baylor so Tamme phoned UK athletic director Mitch Barnhart.

"During the coaching change I called Mr. Barnhart and told him, whoever you hire as coach, I wanted you to tell him that I wanted to still come here if there was still a scholarship for me," Tamme said. "I'd love to come here."

Barnhart ended up hiring Brooks, who offered Tamme a scholarship his first week on the job.

"For coach Brooks to give me that opportunity when he got here was just awesome," Tamme said.

Brooks is equally appreciative of Tamme for the way he has conducted himself off the field.

Tamme, who married his high school sweetheart Allison in May, has already earned his undergraduate degree and is working on his master's degree.

His devotion to the Wildcats long before the team began re-writing history with a Music City Bowl victory last season is what Brooks appreciates the most.

"He's been the one of the biggest faces of the program to me on and off the field," Brooks said. "He's been a big-time player in big-time games. He's seen it all, the good, bad and ugly.

"The great thing I feel tremendous about is he is one of the guys when it wasn't very pretty that had a belief and a commitment to see it through and keep working at getting it to the level we've gotten it to."