California University of Pennsylvania Athletics

Tim McCutcheon was a four-year starting offensive lineman for the Vulcan football team from 2004-2007, and his playing paved the way for the program’s emergence as a national power in NCAA Division II.

McCutcheon was a two-time American Football Coaches Association first team All-American and a two-time Associated Press All-American, earning first-team honors from the AP in 2007. He was also a first-team all-conference selection in each of his four seasons as he helped the Vulcans produce prodigious offensive totals.

His impact was evident the spring before his first season according to Mike Kellar, Cal U’s second-year head football coach. Kellar actually began his coaching tenure as the Vulcans’ offensive coordinator in the spring of 2004.

“He was special from the very first day, a leader in the weight-room and when I got here other coaches in meetings were talking about his potential and how good he could be,” Kellar said. “You don’t know how all of that will translate onto the field but right from the first day of practice he was as good as any lineman we had on the field. “

McCutcheon played left tackle as a freshman, left guard as a sophomore and center as a junior. After starting his senior season at center, the coaches decided to move him back to left tackle to raise the line's level of play and better protect the quarterback.

Kellar said McCutcheon’s best position was left tackle but he was also a valuable center, where he could make the calls and solidify the middle of the offensive front.

“He kind of covered up where our weaknesses were,” Kellar said. “We moved him around because we had three or four other guys who could play one position and Tim could play all five. He made our line better and it didn’t matter where you put Tim because he was going to be dominant.”

McCutcheon was a game-changer from the start: During his freshman season, Cal U achieved only its second winning season in 18 years, while scoring 34 or more points seven times in 10 games. The Vulcans’ per-game averages of 36.5 points and 446 total offensive yards led the PSAC-West and were second in the conference.

The following year, Cal U took its first PSAC-West title and won eight games for the first time in 21 years. The Vulcans averaged a school record 42.1 points per game, which included an 88-point performance with 757 total yards against Mansfield University.

That total offense output remains a PSAC record, and the 88 points still stands as a school record, tied with the 1920 squad. Cal U clinched the division crown in the regular season finale by defeating rival IUP (38-23) for the first time since 1984.

The 2006 Vulcans repeated as PSAC-West champions and again won eight games. Cal U led the PSAC in total offense (417.9), rushing offense (200), and time of possession (32:39).

McCutcheon concluded his stellar career by leading the Vulcans to their winningest season ever in 2007. For only the third time in school history, Cal U was undefeated in the regular season — and its 11-0 record topped that of the 1946 (9-0) and 1958 (8-0) teams.

Cal U made its first appearance in the NCAA Division II playoffs memorable by winning the NCAA Northeast Region championship, defeating Southern Connecticut (43-7) and Shepherd (58-38) before making the first of three consecutive appearances in the NCAA Division II national semifinals.

McCutcheon was a national finalist for the Gene Upshaw Award, and the 2007 Vulcans (13-1) scored 502 points, setting a school record, which still ranks second. So far, Cal U is the only PSAC-West football team to advance to the national semifinals in the 2000s.

“When you look back at the 2007 team we had many guys who had played a lot of football for us starting in 2004 or 2005, and the scout teams those seasons had a lot to do with our success,” said Kellar. “There were guys who had come through the ranks, worked out and lifted together for three or four years and it accumulated into a special season.”

The 2007 season concluded with McCutcheon being one of an astronomical 16 Vulcans receiving all-conference honors, including 12 first-team selections. However McCutcheon was one of just four returning offensive starters that fall along with fellow all-league teammates Nate Forse (WR), Joe Ruggiero (QB) and running back Brandon Lombardy.

“At the beginning of the year I’d say we were an average offense but by the end of the year we were probably as good as any offense in the country which shows you what Tim did,” said offensive line coach Mike Evans.

Kellar believes McCutcheon’s play and work ethic set a precedent that is still emulated today.

“On the field or in the locker room he showed his teammates that you show up for work everyday, even if you’re hurt, and practice at a certain level,” he said. “Tim really passed the torch from one group to the other and was the link from the 2004-2006 lines to the ones that followed him.

“He had to play with a bunch of new guys his senior year and get them where they needed to be and show them the standard of offensive line play and California football in general. His leadership role was through the roof not to mention he was the best offensive lineman in the league and one of the best in college football.”

McCutcheon is the second Vulcan who played for coach John Luckhardt to be inducted into the Cal U Hall of Fame, joining running back Antoine Bagwell.

“It’s very rare and something you don’t see very often,” said Kellar about McCutcheon’s remarkable four-year career. “But that’s why he is going into the Hall of Fame so quickly. Tim was a special player.”

Originally from Sewickley, Pa., and a graduate of Quaker Valley High School, he is a highway laborer for Union Local 1058. McCutcheon lives in Scottdale, Pa., with his girl friend, Ashley Snyder, and daughter, Amarah, who is seven.

updated 10/10/13