Atlas
05-03-2006, 04:10 AM
NFL: Cutler’s journey to Denver has roots in NWI
May 3, 2006
By Mike Hutton / Post-Tribune staff writer
SoCals Link: http://www.post-trib.com/cgi-bin/pto-story/sports/z1/05-03-06_z1_spor_7.html
It was a long time ago.
But it’s still pretty clear to Jack Cutler why he didn’t return to Chesterton, where he was an all-state running back in 1973 after he graduated from the state police academy.
“I didn’t want to have to deal with writing tickets to my friends,” Cutler said.
Instead, Cutler settled in Santa Claus, Ind., about 45 miles south of Evansville, with his wife, Sandy (Taubert) Cutler of Chesterton.
There, they had a son, Jay, and two daughters, Jenna and Joy.
Cutler figured the atmosphere down south would be more family friendly. Besides, the hunting and fishing was better.
Jay, as it turns out, would become a pretty good quarterback. More than just pretty good. Real good.
On Saturday, with a legion of family and friends on hand at Vanderbilt University watching the NFL draft, Jay was picked with the 11th overall selection by the Denver Broncos.
That’s a long way from where Jay was four years ago after Jack scrambled to find a school for him when Illinois reneged on a verbal commitment to offer him a scholarship.
“We were elated that he could get picked by such a good organization — especially one that has a chance to go the Super Bowl next year,” Jack Cutler said in a phone interview from Lincoln State Park, where he was on a hunting trip.
The Cutler family got to celebrate the good news with a few of Jack’s high school buddies.
Tim McGinty, the principal at Westchester Middle School, made the trip to Nashville for draft day.
So did Dennis Babcock, another high school friend who still lives in Chesterton. McGinty, who played alongside Jack, called him a “tremendous player.”
McGinty said the weekend was a memorable one.
“That was probably the most exciting weekend of my life,” he said. “It was just electrifying to sit in front of the big screen TV with all the players around (waiting to see where he was drafted). It was nice to celebrate with the Cutlers. They’re such nice people.”
n n n
Jay has felt the guiding hand of his father since he was old enough to throw a football.
One of Jack’s biggest regrets came when he dropped out of Indiana State, where he had earned a scholarship, after only a year because he didn’t want to return.
“I just didn’t feel like playing,” he said.
Instead, he went to the Army for a two-year stint before enrolling in the state police academy.
After he settled down, he opened a concrete business on the side. At 9, Jay started working next to his dad.
“I wanted him to get a good education, not quit school like I did,” Cutler said. “I wanted him to see laying concrete wasn’t something you wanted to do.”
That year, Jay Cutler played in his first Pop Warner Football game.
When he threw the ball on a string, the coach asked Jack if he could try Jay at quarterback.
“Whatever you think is best,” Cutler told him.
By the time Cutler was a senior, he led Heritage Hills to its first state championship ever with a perfect 15-0 record. Cutler completed more than 60 percent of his passes that season.
Cutler was planning on attending Illinois. His dad even shooed away other schools, believing that he would play for Ron Turner.
But when they visited Champaign, Jack Cutler said Turner rescinded the scholarship offer, giving it instead to another quarterback by the name of Matt Dlugolecki.
Cutler later learned former Notre Dame quarterback Ron Powlus, who knew Turner, had pushed Dlugolecki his way.
Dlugolecki didn’t last long, transferring to San Diego State before the 2002 season. He is only listed for only one play — a rush of negative one yard — on the SDSU Web site for the 2005 season.
“That was dirty,” Cutler said. “But that’s what happened.”
That forced the Cutlers to send out tape at the last minute.
Vanderbilt liked what they saw in Cutler, who is now 6-foot-3 and weighs 230 pounds.
They offered him right away.
His draft pedigree shot up the charts this year after he had monster games against Tennessee and Florida — where he passed for 367 and 361 yards, respectively.
He finished as a first team All-Southeastern Conference selection.
Denver even moved up four spots, from 15 to 11, to ensure that they would get Cutler.
Getting picked 11th means Cutler will likely have a signing bonus of around $10 million.
It also means there will probably be a few more Denver Bronco fans in Northwest Indiana.
May 3, 2006
By Mike Hutton / Post-Tribune staff writer
SoCals Link: http://www.post-trib.com/cgi-bin/pto-story/sports/z1/05-03-06_z1_spor_7.html
It was a long time ago.
But it’s still pretty clear to Jack Cutler why he didn’t return to Chesterton, where he was an all-state running back in 1973 after he graduated from the state police academy.
“I didn’t want to have to deal with writing tickets to my friends,” Cutler said.
Instead, Cutler settled in Santa Claus, Ind., about 45 miles south of Evansville, with his wife, Sandy (Taubert) Cutler of Chesterton.
There, they had a son, Jay, and two daughters, Jenna and Joy.
Cutler figured the atmosphere down south would be more family friendly. Besides, the hunting and fishing was better.
Jay, as it turns out, would become a pretty good quarterback. More than just pretty good. Real good.
On Saturday, with a legion of family and friends on hand at Vanderbilt University watching the NFL draft, Jay was picked with the 11th overall selection by the Denver Broncos.
That’s a long way from where Jay was four years ago after Jack scrambled to find a school for him when Illinois reneged on a verbal commitment to offer him a scholarship.
“We were elated that he could get picked by such a good organization — especially one that has a chance to go the Super Bowl next year,” Jack Cutler said in a phone interview from Lincoln State Park, where he was on a hunting trip.
The Cutler family got to celebrate the good news with a few of Jack’s high school buddies.
Tim McGinty, the principal at Westchester Middle School, made the trip to Nashville for draft day.
So did Dennis Babcock, another high school friend who still lives in Chesterton. McGinty, who played alongside Jack, called him a “tremendous player.”
McGinty said the weekend was a memorable one.
“That was probably the most exciting weekend of my life,” he said. “It was just electrifying to sit in front of the big screen TV with all the players around (waiting to see where he was drafted). It was nice to celebrate with the Cutlers. They’re such nice people.”
n n n
Jay has felt the guiding hand of his father since he was old enough to throw a football.
One of Jack’s biggest regrets came when he dropped out of Indiana State, where he had earned a scholarship, after only a year because he didn’t want to return.
“I just didn’t feel like playing,” he said.
Instead, he went to the Army for a two-year stint before enrolling in the state police academy.
After he settled down, he opened a concrete business on the side. At 9, Jay started working next to his dad.
“I wanted him to get a good education, not quit school like I did,” Cutler said. “I wanted him to see laying concrete wasn’t something you wanted to do.”
That year, Jay Cutler played in his first Pop Warner Football game.
When he threw the ball on a string, the coach asked Jack if he could try Jay at quarterback.
“Whatever you think is best,” Cutler told him.
By the time Cutler was a senior, he led Heritage Hills to its first state championship ever with a perfect 15-0 record. Cutler completed more than 60 percent of his passes that season.
Cutler was planning on attending Illinois. His dad even shooed away other schools, believing that he would play for Ron Turner.
But when they visited Champaign, Jack Cutler said Turner rescinded the scholarship offer, giving it instead to another quarterback by the name of Matt Dlugolecki.
Cutler later learned former Notre Dame quarterback Ron Powlus, who knew Turner, had pushed Dlugolecki his way.
Dlugolecki didn’t last long, transferring to San Diego State before the 2002 season. He is only listed for only one play — a rush of negative one yard — on the SDSU Web site for the 2005 season.
“That was dirty,” Cutler said. “But that’s what happened.”
That forced the Cutlers to send out tape at the last minute.
Vanderbilt liked what they saw in Cutler, who is now 6-foot-3 and weighs 230 pounds.
They offered him right away.
His draft pedigree shot up the charts this year after he had monster games against Tennessee and Florida — where he passed for 367 and 361 yards, respectively.
He finished as a first team All-Southeastern Conference selection.
Denver even moved up four spots, from 15 to 11, to ensure that they would get Cutler.
Getting picked 11th means Cutler will likely have a signing bonus of around $10 million.
It also means there will probably be a few more Denver Bronco fans in Northwest Indiana.