A cut above: no quarterback in the draft can match the down-the-road potential of Jay Cutler, whose stock has taken a sharp upward turn.(NFL)

Admit it. Before last fall, you hadn't heard of Jay Cutler. No, testosterone breath, not the bodybuilder from Las Vegas who looks as though his biceps, pecs and quads are ready to burst. We're talking about the football player from Santa Claus, Ind., whose rapid rise has expanded the number of premier quarterback prospects in the NFL draft from company to crowd.

SEC coaches knew about Cutler, who played at Vanderbilt. They voted him to the conference's 2005 preseason team--ahead of Florida's Chris Leak, who passed for 1,353 more yards and 19 more touchdowns in '04. Cutler lived up to their expectations and was the SEC's offensive player of the year. Now, NFL talent evaluators are measuring the dandy from Vandy against Southern California's Matt Leinart and Texas' Vince Young.

"I feel Cutler will be the best of the three," says Panthers college scouting director Tony Softli. "He has that cocky confidence, the fire burning in his belly. He has the stronger arm, he has mobility, he's fearless to make the big play, and he has a whatever-it-takes-type attitude."

Cutler has skyrocketed from a third-round prospect to a top 10 overall pick because of his performance in four phases.

1 THE '05 SEASON

Wow factor: Cutler grabs the attention of NFL scouts by leading Vanderbilt--Vanderbilt--to a 4-0 start, including last-minute, come-from-behind victories over Wake Forest and Arkansas. In the season finale in Knoxville, Cutler's 5-yard touchdown pass to Earl Bennett with 1:11 left lifts the Commodores to a 28-24 victory--their first against Tennessee since 1982. For the season, Cutler completes 273 of 462 passes (59.1 percent) for 3,073 yards and 21 touchdowns, with only nine interceptions.

Whoa factor" Playing behind an inconsistent line, Cutler develops some bad habits. He often throws off his back foot and doesn't set his feet or align his hips when he throws. He takes a lot of hits and is sacked 23 times, which raises his career total to 80.