Ranger grad well on way to NFL
by Misty Volaski

Other than Noah Lowrey, Ryan Cuthbert is the only Nordhoff Ranger in recent history to have made it into the professional sports arena.
And he could go all the way.
Cuthbert started out his football career in the Ojai Eagles youth football league. Enthused with the sport's energy, he moved on to play defensive end for two years for Nordhoff. There, he was named Small Division Defensive Lineman of the Year, First Team All-Conference and was also named to the Los Angeles Times First Team, as well as establishing a school record with 16.5 sacks in a season.
When he graduated, he decided to play for Moorpark Community College in 1993.
After a four-year dry spell, Cuthbert came back onto the scene to play for Ventura College as a middle linebacker.
"Usually if you leave (football), that's it," Cuthbert said during a break in his off-season workout Monday.
However, as captain of the Ventura Pirates football squad and an all-conference pick, Cuthbert caught the eye of Tusculum College recruiters, who gave him a full-ride scholarship to the university in Tennessee.
His success at Tusculum got him the contract he'd dreamed of - playing on a professional football team, the Iowa Barnstormers.
Unfortunately, soon after he began playing for the Barnstormers, Cuthbert's son Cameron, now age 6, was diagnosed with a heart condition, and Cuthbert raced back home to be by his side.
But Cuthbert wasn't ready to drop his dream of playing in the National Football League just yet. Last year, he went to an open tryout for the San Diego Riptides, an Arena Two team. He made the team as an offensive/defensive linebacker, and led the team to its first-ever playoff appearance.
And as we speak, Cuthbert is trying out for the Avengers, an Arena One team. If he makes it - and his personal trainer Don Williams of Don's Gym is confident that he will - he'll be just one step away from the NFL.
"He's doing really, really well at this level," Williams said. "He has what it takes. This is good stuff."

© 2002 The Ojai Valley News

Back to sports

Back to the news