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Cutler Named to O’Brien Award Preseason Watchlist 8/19/2005 DALLAS, Texas – For the second consecutive season, Vanderbilt senior Jay Cutler has been named to the preseason watch list for the Davey O’Brien Award, presented annually to the nation’s top college quarterback. The O’Brien Award is the oldest and most prestigious award in the country for college quarterbacks and is named in honor of the late Davey O’Brien, the All-American and Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback for TCU who led the Horned Frogs to the 1938 national championship. “It’s another outstanding honor for a very deserving quarterback,” Vanderbilt Head Coach Bobby Johnson said. “Jay has had a tremendous career at Vanderbilt and will go down as one of the finest Commodores with a great senior season. “He possesses all the assets needed to be a great quarterback and has really stepped his game up in the last two years. At the same time, I’m just as proud of the leadership role Jay has taken with this team,” Johnson said. Cutler, a three-year starter, ranks among the all-time Vanderbilt quarterback leaders in virtually every statistical category. He enters his final season in a Commodore uniform as the career leader with 54 combined touchdowns. He is third all-time with 38 touchdown passes, 6,665 yards in total offense and 16 rushing touchdowns by a quarterback. Among active SEC quarterbacks, Cutler is the leader in completions, combined touchdowns and total offense while ranking second in touchdown passes and passing yards. In 2004, Cutler completed 61 percent of his pass attempts, the highest percentage by a Commodore in 35 years. He also threw just five interceptions and went eight straight games without an interception. A First Team All-SEC preseason pick by the league coaches, Cutler has started 34 games as a Commodore, including the current streak of 29 consecutive starts. Only one other quarterback in the nation, Brad Smith of Missouri, has more consecutive starts entering the season. This season also will mark Cutler’s third as a team captain. Only one other player in the history of Vanderbilt history, Elliott H. Jones from 1890-92, has earned that distinction. Cutler, a native of Santa Claus, Ind., is one of 33 candidates named to the O’Brien Watch List. Three other SEC quarterbacks were recognized. Semifinalists will be announced in early November as voted on by the O’Brien Selection Committee, a nationwide panel of sportswriters and commentators, as well as former O’Brien Award winners. The committee will then narrow the field to three finalists and then the winner. The 2005 Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award winner will be announced on the Home Depot College Football Awards Show on Thursday, Dec. 8, 2005 and will be honored Feb. 20, 2006, at the 29th annual Davey O’Brien Award Dinner at The Fort Worth Club in downtown Fort Worth, Texas. |
