Friday, October 15, 2004
Extra Points
It was a decision Matt McCutchan didn't want to have to make - play college football, or stay at the Naval Academy.
Had McCutchan, then a sophomore, started his junior year at the academy, he would face a seven-year commitment to the Navy. He loved the Navy, but he loved football, too, and Navy doctors and trainers had told him he couldn't play again because of a series of neck injuries.
McCutchan, a Lebanon High graduate, found another doctor who said he could play, so he chose football. Now he's the starting center at Kentucky - even though he's a walk-on.
"Truthfully, I'm just glad to be playing," the 6-foot-3, 280-pound junior said.
McCutchan sat out the 2003 season because of NCAA transfer rules. He also switched from right guard, his position at Navy, to center.
McCutchan won the starting job during spring practice.
"He's a leader on the front line," tight end Jeremiah Drobney said. "The center has to be a leader for the team. I think the Naval Academy taught him to be pretty disciplined."
Overlooked
The leading receiver and most efficient passer in the Pac-10 weren't recruited out of high school.
"You would think with the numbers of people out there recruiting and evaluating, you uncover most of the rocks," Beavers coach Mike Riley said. "We've proved time and again we don't."
