Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

UNLV’s Tim Hough returns home to Desert Pines to surprise favorite educator

Tim Hough Thanks High School Counselor

Jesse Granger

UNLV football player Tim Hough returned to Desert Pines High Monday, Sept. 19, 2016, to visit Kristine Korth, his former counselor. Players nationwide such as Hough are making trips to their high school this week to celebrate the teacher or educator that made the most difference in their lives through the Extra Yard for Teachers program.

Tim Hough Thanks High School Counselor

UNLV football player Tim Hough returned to Desert Pines High Monday, Sept. 19, 2016, to visit Kristine Korth, his former counselor. Players nationwide such as Hough are making trips to their high school this week to celebrate the teacher or educator who made the most difference in their lives through the Extra Yard for Teachers program. Launch slideshow »

Guidance counselor Kristine Korth walked into her office Monday at Desert Pines High School and saw a familiar face. UNLV football player Tim Hough, a former student, still stops by to visit.

It wasn’t the first time she saw Hough, who graduated from Desert Pines in 2014, in the office, and it won’t be the last.

“From the moment I met Tim I knew that he was special,” Korth said. “I met him in the middle of his junior year and I said, 'No more C’s, Tim. It’s got to be all A’s and B’s,' and he did it. He would come by my office every day.”

Hough, a sophomore defensive back, returned to his alma mater as part of the Extra Yard for Teachers program run by the College Football Playoff Foundation. Players nationwide are making trips to their high schools this week to celebrate the teacher or educator who made the most difference in their lives.

UNLV offensive linemen Jaron Caldwell and Julio Garcia returned to see teachers at Bishop Gorman, and defensive lineman Mike Hughes made a trip to Palo Verde.

Hough presented Korth with a gift basket including tickets to UNLV’s game against Idaho on Saturday, a Rebel shirt, a poster and of course, a shiny Granny Smith apple.

“I didn’t have the best grades when I transferred here, but Ms. Korth helped me,” Hough said. “She whipped me into shape and made sure I got all my grades up.”

Hough transferred from Redford Union High School in the Detroit area to Desert Pines in 2012. Upon arrival, Hough’s grade point average was a meager 1.8 — well below what’s needed to become a Division I athlete.

“I mapped out what he needed to do and it was a lot, and after that he was just on a mission,” Korth said. “He wanted that accountability. He wanted to go to college and take that next step.”

Hough was an all-state performer as a senior for the Jaguars, recording 35 catches for 760 yards and 11 touchdowns as a receiver, and three interceptions as a defensive back.

“We’ve had students here in the past that didn’t qualify (for college),” Korth said. “Kids that had schools interested in giving them a full ride and weren’t able to do it. I just told him that you either qualify or you don’t, and if you want to punch that ticket, this is what you need to do.”

Korth created a grid of all of Hough’s grades showing what classes he needed to take, and in some cases, retake.

“One time I put one of his grades in wrong, and he came back the next day saying, ‘Ms. Korth you got one of my grades wrong you need to fix this,’” Korth said. “So he would study it. He was always analyzing.”

Click to enlarge photo

Desert Pines High School wide receiver Tim Hough poses for a portrait inside the school's varsity locker room Thursday, Jan. 9, 2013.

Hough raised his GPA to 3.0 just in time for graduation, and committed to play football at UNLV. After redshirting as a freshman in 2014, Hough started nine games in 2015 and was arguably one of the Rebels’ best defenders.

The 5-foot-11 cornerback tied Marlon Beavers’ (1973) school record for interceptions in a season with four and ranked ninth on the team with 32 tackles.

Since Tony Sanchez took over the Rebel football program, one of his focuses has been keeping local talent in Las Vegas. Hough has played his part, talking to current players at Desert Pines about going at UNLV. His close friend, 2017 quarterback Marckell Grayson, is verbally committed to the Rebels.

“I try to encourage them but at the same time their parents have more of a say than I do,” Hough said. “I think a lot of them will take after me like Marckell Grayson. I made a big impact on him and he committed there, but I’m still working on the other ones though.”

Despite only playing two seasons at Desert Pines, Hough takes great pride in being a Jaguar.

“Sometimes it’s not where you grow up, it’s what makes you,” Hough said. “I think that this place made me more than where I grew up.”

More important, Hough is still excelling in the classroom at UNLV.

“He comes in and tells me what his GPA is and what his schedule is still, so it’s nice to see him doing well in college,” Korth said. “I always love it when my old students come back to say hi, but Tim is my favorite. I always tell the other boys that Tim is my favorite.”

This Saturday Korth will get a chance to see Hough in his office, as he and the Rebels take on the Idaho Vandals at Sam Boyd Stadium.

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