On Thursday afternoon, the once-heralded quarterback prospect tweeted that he would be transferring out of the Virginia Football program.
Quarterbacks leaving the Cavaliers is nothing new. Since January 8 2012, six, that's right, six different QBs have left UVa to take their talents elsewhere. Heck, Marc Verica was the last Wahoo signal-caller to spend all 4/5 years of eligibility in Charlottesville.
So what's so different about this one?
While Virginia fans have been skeptical about the quarterback position for the past decade, many looked at Cutler as the best hope as the "QB of the future." The former Ocean Lakes product has an incredibly strong arm, is an accurate passer, and had the respect of his teammates. Chronologically, Cutler was primed to take over in 2017 at the latest, when both Grayson Lambert and Matt Johns would have been gone. By that time, Cutler would have had three years in the Wahoo program, plus the additional season he spent at Fork Union Military Academy prior to arriving on grounds.
So what's next for the quarterback position?
While Lambert and Johns each have a season of quality snaps under their belts, no other quarterback on the Virginia roster has taken a snap in a college game. The aforementioned QBs will obviously be number one and two respectively on the depth chart, but who is number three?
Enter Nick Johns (no relation to Matt).
The Washington D.C. native will arrive on grounds this summer, and barring anything unforeseen, will be the team's third option at quarterback this fall. The incoming freshman certainly looks the part (6-3, 226 pounds), and was ranked as the 19th best pro-style quarterback in the entire class of 2015 by Rivals.
As seen in the film above, Johns has terrific presence in the pocket, and is an accurate passer. This past fall, the Gonzaga standout threw for 1,366 yards and 12 touchdowns, while completing 67 percent of his passes.
While Johns is a nice addition in the class of 2015, the Hoos will add another top QB in '16 as well. Three-star quarterback Sonny Abramson committed to Virginia last fall, and is the centerpiece of an impressive offensive class so far. Abramson committed to the Orange and Blue over a host of FBS programs, and is ranked as the 15th best "pocket-passing" quarterback in the country for the class of 2016. Like Johns, the three-star is a savvy QB, with good awareness and a good arm to go a long with it.
The Sparta (New Jersey, not Greece) native guided a young Pope John XXIII team to a respectable season this past year, and that squad should be loaded this fall.
So while Cutler's departure is a big loss, the Wahoos have some talented options waiting in the wings. Both Johns and Abramson were heavily recruited by other FBS programs, and they both should have time, especially Johns to develop into college quarterbacks.
Boy the comment section should be a lot of fun.