Fast-rising Cutler aims to be cut above

0 Comments | USA TODAY, April, 2006 | by Tom Weir

NASHVILLE -- "Big" is the adjective that makes Jay Cutler the quarterback with the fastest-rising stock in the NFL draft.

Big as in 6-3, 226 pounds. A big arm that was unaffected by brutal weather at his pro day workout for NFL scouts March17. A big, competitive heart that didn't waver in four seasons as a starter for a Vanderbilt team that often was physically outmatched in the Southeastern Conference.

But for teams that aren't drafting high enough to land either of the most touted quarterbacks in this draft -- Southern California's Matt Leinart and Texas' Vince Young -- there's a subtler appeal about Cutler.

"I call him the happy medium," Tennessee Titans general manager Floyd Reese says. "He has Matt's brains, arms and accuracy, and he has Young's...