Jay Cutler

As an 11-Game starter, he completed 273 of 462 passes (59.1%) for 3,073 yards, 21 touchdowns and nine interceptions, as he became the first Commodore to win the SEC Offensive Player of the Year (coaches and media) since 1967.

With his senior-season performance, Cutler became the second Commodore to throw for more than 3,000 yards in a season, while his 273 completions and 21 touchdowns ranked second on the school's single-season list.

He led the Commodores to victories over Wake Forest, Arkansas, Ole Miss, Richmond and Tennessee.

The Commodores also scored the second most points ever (42) laid upon the Florida Gators at their current home field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.

Cutler ended his career by leading Vanderbilt past Tennessee 28–24, their first over the Volunteers since 1982 (the year before Cutler was born), and the first in Knoxville since 1975.

Cutler passed for three touchdowns and 315 yards, becoming the first quarterback in school history to record four consecutive 300-yard passing performances.

Cutler's final play in college was the Game-winning (and streak-ending) touchdown pass to teammate Earl Bennett against Tennessee.

A finalist for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award (nation's top senior quarterback), Cutler was a first-team All-SEC pick by the league's coaches and led the conference with a school-record 3,288 yards of total offense.

While at Vanderbilt, Cutler was a three-year captain and four-year starter, setting school career records for total offense (9,953 yards), touchdown passes (59), passing yards (8,697), pass completions (710), pass attempts (1,242), and combined touchdowns (76).

Jay Christopher Cutler (born April 29, 1983) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons.

A member of the Chicago Bears for most of his career, he is the franchise leader in passing yards, passing touchdowns, attempts, and completions.

Cutler was born in Santa Claus, Indiana in 1983.

Cutler attended Heritage Hills High School in Lincoln City, Indiana.

He started three years as a quarterback for the Patriots football team, amassing a combined 26–1 record in his junior and senior years, including a perfect 15–0 during his senior year.

Cutler and his team outscored opponents 746–85, including a 90–0 shutout at Pike Central.

During his senior year, Cutler connected on 122 of 202 passes (60.4%) for 2,252 yards with 31 touchdowns, while rushing 65 times for 493 yards with 11 touchdowns.

He redshirted in his 2001 freshman season, and subsequently started all 45 career games that he played for the Commodores, the most starts by a quarterback in school history.

He did not miss a Game in college due to injury.

The Commodores were 11–35 during his tenure, including going 5–27 versus the SEC. In 2002, Cutler set the school record for touchdowns and rushing yards by a freshman and rushed for more yards than any other Southeastern Conference quarterback that year.

The Associated Press honored him with a first-team freshman All-SEC selection.

In 2004, as a junior, Cutler completed 61.0 percent of his passes, setting a school record, while throwing for 1,844 yards with 10 touchdowns and a career-low five interceptions.

The 2005 season, Cutler's final year of play at Vanderbilt, was his most successful.

Cutler graduated from Vanderbilt in 2005 with a bachelor's degree in human and organizational development.

Cutler played college football for the Vanderbilt Commodores, where he was the Southeastern Conference Offensive Player of the Year as a senior, and was selected in the first round of the 2006 NFL Draft by the Denver Broncos.

During his three seasons with the Broncos, he earned Pro Bowl honors in 2008.

The following year, Cutler was traded to the Bears, where he played eight seasons.

His most successful season was in 2010 when he led the Bears to a division title and NFC Championship Game appearance.

After being released by Chicago, Cutler spent his final season with the Miami Dolphins.

He also started at safety for three years, intercepting nine passes as a senior, 12th overall in the state.

His team's perfect record during his senior year included the school's first 3A state championship, where Heritage Hills beat Zionsville in overtime, 27–24.

The most notable play of the Game occurred when Cutler lateraled the ball to the halfback, Cole Seifrig, who then passed it to Cutler who ran it into the end zone.

Cutler also played strong safety in the state championship and made 19 tackles.

Cutler was named a first-team All-State selection by the Associated Press as a senior.

In addition to playing football in high school, he was a first-team all-state selection in basketball, scoring 1,131 points; he co-holds the school record for FGs made (16) in a Game and garnered honorable mention all-state accolades as a shortstop in baseball.

Cutler grew up as a Chicago Bears fan during his youth in Indiana.

Cutler attended Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.

Vanderbilt nearly upset the 13th-ranked Gators before falling 49–42 in the second overtime after a controversial excessive celebration call prevented the Commodores from going for 2 at the end of regulation.

Reflecting on Cutler's college career, former Denver Broncos safety John Lynch said, "If this guy can take a bunch of future doctors and lawyers and have them competing against the Florida Gators, this guy is a stud."

In 2016, Cutler was inducted into the Vanderbilt Athletics Hall of Fame.

He was named among the 100 greatest Bears of All-Time in 2019.