From NFLDraftscout.com
Analysis
Cutler is a tough athlete who plays with pain, having withstood a considerable amount of punishment behind a poor offensive line (41 sacks) the last two years. He is a mobile passer with enough lateral agility and short area quickness to step up and avoid pressure, but does not throw as well on the run as he does when standing in the pocket.
Cutler needs to carry the ball higher to generate more velocity behind his tosses when dropping back from center to his throwing point. He has a quick release and arm strength to make all of the passes, but must do a better job of stepping into his throws to take advantage of his arm strength. He is smart enough to make calls and checks at the line of scrimmage, but might be a little gun shy due to the poor protection he receives, resulting in him bolting out of the pocket at the first sign of pressure.
He throws a tight spiral and can hit his receivers coming out of their breaks on short routes. But, he needs mechanical refinement, as he slingshots a lot of his deep passes and fails to set his feet properly to get full velocity behind his tosses. In 2003, he sacrifices himself by taking a sack when his receivers failed to get open, but he leaves the ball too exposed, resulting in several costly fumbles.
His toughness and dedication is evident in his work habits. He spends a lot of time in the film room preparing for his upcoming opponent and likes to lift in the weight room with his offensive linemen. He is a medium-stride runner who is capable of moving the chains running with the ball, but will not be one to gain big yardage into the second level. When forced to roll out, he shows better accuracy from the right hash than the left, but is better suited as a pocket passer than an option performer, despite his good foot speed and balance.
He excels with his short throws, doing a good job of connecting with his tight ends and slot receivers on crossing patterns and with his backs on dump-offs. When he sets his feet, he has a quick throwing motion, but when he throws off his back foot, he does not get enough air behind his deep tosses to get the ball over the head of the defender. His deep balls lack ideal trajectory, resulting in a high amount of interceptions and pass break-ups the last two years (18 interceptions, 75 pass deflections).
Cutler shows good intelligence and needs minimal reps to retain plays, but his lack of confidence in his receivers has forced him to wait until the last possible second to throw the ball. He needs to do a better job on read progressions to locate his secondary targets and has to develop better anticipation for his targets to get the ball to them before they break out of their routes in order to have any success at the next level.
Still, there is a lot of potential in this athlete. Patient coaching is well advised, as he will need to take shorter steps in his pass drops, scan the field better to locate secondary targets, step into his throws rather than throw off his back foot and show better patience before bailing out of the pocket. He has enough mobility to gain yardage when needed with his feet, but must learn to throw from the pocket, as he tends to get his base too narrow to generate the velocity needed to air the ball out from the hashes.
He is still a work in progress and while he cut down on his interceptions in 2004, his yardage production also suffered. If he can develop better poise in the pocket, increase his deep ball accuracy and carry the ball chest high rather at the hip, he could be a productive pro player.
Scouting Report
Positives…Has added over ten pounds of bulk and muscle tone to his frame during the 2005 off-season…Shows good mobility rolling out of the pocket and decent quickness driving back from center to his throwing point…Does a good job of hitting his receivers in stride in the short area, especially on crossing patterns…Tough player who absorbs a lot of punishment due to marginal protection, yet has missed only three-quarters of one game and one-quarter of another due to injuries.
Shows good touch and accuracy on underneath routes…Has the balance and lateral agility to step up to avoid the pass rush…Despite holding the ball low, he has the arm power and quick throwing motion to get the ball out with velocity on screens…Can buy time in the backfield when flushed out due to his foot quickness…Has a lively arm with a snappy release (but needs mechanical refinement).
Negatives…Might be a little gun shy from all the punishment he has taken over the years… Needs to do a better job of securing the ball before running, as he has fumbled twenty times the last two years…Must do a better job at the pre-snap recognizing defensive schemes, as he does not always scan the field well…Seems to lack confidence with his receivers, failing to anticipate when his targets will be breaking…Spends too much time eyeballing his primary target, rarely looking off them to locate his secondary receivers…Must learn how to step into his throws to generate better accuracy (steps back on too many of his tosses).
Uses poor judgment at times when flushed out of the pocket, either holding on to the ball too long, resulting in a sack or throwing the ball up for grabs, causing costly interceptions…Has good touch in the short area, but because he carries the ball so low, he does not get ideal trajectory to feather the ball over the head of the defender (this causes a lot of interceptions-18 and pass deflections-75 over the last two years)…Lacks accuracy throwing on the run, especially when unleashing from the left hash…Rotates his hips too much through his release and needs to throw off the front foot more.
Career Notes
Has started every game (34) that he played in for the Commodores…Ranks fourth in school history with 437 completions of 780 passes, topped only by Greg Zolman (596 of 1156, 1998-2001), Whit Taylor (555 of 1016, 1979-82) and Kurt Page (531 of 936, 1981-84)…His 5,624 yards passing rank behind Zolman (7,981), Taylor (6,307) and Page (6,233) on the school's all-time record list…Only Taylor (41) and Zolman (41) have thrown for more touchdowns in school history than Jay's 38…Completed 56.0% of his passes, ranking behind Page (56.7%) on the school's career-record list.
Became the third quarterback in school history to rush for over 1,000 yards (1,041) in a career, joining Eric Jones (1211, 1986-88) and Marcus Wilson (1468, 1989-92)…Only Wilson (24) ran for more touchdowns in a career (by a quarterback) that Jay's 16 in school annals…His average of 5.91 yards per offensive play is the third-best figure in school history behind Eric Jones (5.94 avg) and Bill Wade (6.07 avg, 1949-51)…His 6,665 yards in total offense rank third in school history behind Zolman (7,607) and Whit Taylor (6,727).
2005 Season
Enters his final season with the Commodores as the Southeastern Conference's most experienced quarterback and one of its most talented offensive players…Will serve as team captain for the third-straight year…Earned preseason All-Southeastern Conference second-team honors from The Poor Man's Guide to the NFL Draft.
2004 Season
Two-time captain who started every game for the Commodores...Team's Offensive Back MVP Award winner…Completed 147 of 241 passes for 1,844 yards, ten touchdowns and only five interceptions…His 61.0 pass completion percentage was the second-best season average in school history, topped only by Watson Brown (62.2% in 1969…The only other player to complete 60% of his passes in a season for the Commodores was Eric Jones (60.7) in 1987…Among starting quarterbacks, only Mike Healy (one in 1990), Russ Morris (four in 1959), Bob Berry (one in 1948) and Jamie Wade (three in 1946) had less interceptions in a season at Vanderbilt.
Ranked third on the team with 349 yards and six scores on 109 carries (3.2 avg)…His 349 yards and six touchdowns both ranked second in the Southeastern Conference among quarterbacks…Gained 2,193 yards in total offense, the tenth-best season total in school history…Was sacked 25 times for losses of 195 yards…Fumbled the ball seven times, with the opposition recovering four of those miscues…Accounted for 85 of the team's 209 first downs via passes and added 22 more rushing, including eight on third-down plays and one more on fourth down.
2004 Game by Game Breakdown
2003 Season
Named the team's Offensive Back co-MVP Award winner...Started every game for the Commodores, as he set nearly all VU sophomore passing marks, including completions (187), attempts (327), yards (2,347) and touchdowns (18)...His total offense output (2,646 yards) is fourth best in VU history, topped only by Kirk Page (3034 in 1983), Eric Jones (2853 in 1988) and Whit Taylor (2679 in 1982)…His 2,347 yards passing broke the old sophomore season-record of 2,059 yards by Greg Zolman in 1999…It also ranks seventh on the school's overall season-record chart behind Page (3178 in 1983 and 2405 in 1984), Jones (2548 in 1988), Zolman (2512 in 2001 and 2441 in 2000) and Taylor (2481 in 1982).
Only Taylor (22 in 1982) threw for more touchdowns in a season than Jay's 18…His 57.2 pass completion percentage was the highest by a Commodore in a season since Mike Healy completed 57.7% of his passes in 1990…Third on the team with 115 carries for 299 yards (2.6 avg) and a score…Was intercepted thirteen times, sacked 16 times for losses of 120 yards and fumbled thirteen times, with six of those miscues being recovered by the defense…Accounted for 113 first downs passing…Named team Player of the Game vs. Navy, South Carolina and Kentucky…Selected Southeastern Conference Offensive Player of the Week for his performance vs. Kentucky.
2003 Game by Game Breakdown
2002 Season
Freshman All-American third-team selection by The Sporting News…Freshman All-Southeastern Conference choice by the league's coaches and the Associated Press…Started eleven games, sitting out the Middle Tennessee contest (suspended for damaging a campus emergency phone)…Posted one of finest seasons ever by a Commodore fresh-man quarterback.
Completed 103 of 212 passes (48.6%) fort 1,433 yards, ten touchdowns and nine interceptions…Only John Gromos (1483 in 1985) threw for more yards as a freshman in school history…Also was team's second-leading rusher with 393 yards and nine scores on 123 carries (3.2 avg), the most rushing yards and rushing touchdowns by Vanderbilt quarterback since Ronnie Gordon's 577-yard/13-TD total in 1994…His 1,826 yards in total offense set a school freshman season-record.
2002 Game by Game Breakdown
2001 Season
Redshirted as a freshman.
Injury Report
2002-Missed most of the season finale vs. Tennessee (11/23) with a hip pointer. 2004-Sat out the fourth quarter vs. Mississippi State (10/02) with a neck sprain…Suffered a right ankle sprain in the first quarter vs. Florida, missing the rest of the game (11/06).
Campus Agility Tests
4.81 in the 40-yard dash…400-pound bench press…Bench presses 225 pounds 27 times…480-pound squat…295-pound power clean…315-pound hang clean…32-inch vertical jump…31 ½-inch arm length…9 3/8-inch hands…Right-handed…26/36 Wonderlic score.
High School
Attended Heritage Hills (Lincoln City, In.) High School, playing football for head coach Bob Clayton…Standout three-sport athlete who lettered three years as a two-way starter in football, serving as gridiron captain as a senior…Led his team to a 15-0 record and their first state title in school history that year, completing 60 percent of his passes, going 122 of 202 for 2,252 yards and 31 touchdowns…Rushed for 493 yards and 11 scores on 65 carries (7.6 avg)…Also recorded 88 tackles and nine interceptions as a safety, in addition to returning six kicks, a fumble and interception for touchdowns…Holds almost all of team's passing and total offense records.
Named Coaches and Associated Press first team All-State and Indiana Offensive Player of the Year by S&L Publishing Group as a senior…Also selected Conference and Region Player of the Year…Led his team to an 11-1 record as a junior, passing for 1,200 yards, 14 touchdowns to earn All-Conference, All-Area and All-State honors…As a sophomore, Jay threw for 1,000 yards and 10 touch-downs…First-team All-State pick in basketball, averaging 20.0 and 21.0 points per game in his final two varsity years…Was an honorable mention All-State shortstop on the baseball team, hitting over .400 as a junior and senior…Member of National Honor Society at Heritage Hills.
Personal
Human and Organizational Development (leadership track major…Comes from Santa Claus, a small south Indiana town where Christmas season is a big happening and was raised in the Christmas Village subdivision. The town is also home of popular Holiday World Amusement Park... Family participates in the spectacular holiday light show that draws viewers from surrounding states...Works with mentally challenged children through Vanderbilt’s “Best Buddies” program...Son of Jack and Sandy Cutler...Born 4/29/83... Resides in Santa Claus, Indiana.
