As both teacher and friend, David Cutcliffe celebrates Todd Helton's Hall of Fame achievement

Former Tennessee offensive coordinator David Cutcliffe remembers it plain as day. In fact to this day, if Cutcliffe closes his eyes, he can still hear its distinctive sound as the ball collided with the aluminum bat in the hands of Todd Helton.

“Hall of Famers are rare and the memorable rare thing about Todd that I remember is I would be sitting up at night working in the complex in offensive staff room by myself and the baseball indoor hitting cage was nets that they could lower down from the rafters. I would be sitting there watching film or doing some studying and all of a sudden I would hear baseballs being hit. I could tell there were two to three people down on the field hitting in the cage. But, there was never a doubt when I knew Todd was in the cage. You can hear how a Hall of Famer hits the ball. It was so unlike anything and anybody else. I would grin, get up and open the door to peek out and sure enough it was Todd hitting the ball. I never missed knowing it was Todd who was hitting. That contact was different contact. No matter whether it was Coors Field or Yankee Stadium. Todd Helton could hit the ball.” 

Tonight, Helton is officially heading to Cooperstown and the Cutcliffe family can breathe. Cutcliffe was a bit reluctant to discuss Helton with me ahead of the announcement and admitted he and his wife, Karen, watched A League of Their Own Monday night for some good baseball mojo. 

“I’m a nervous wreck,” Cutcliffe said Tuesday afternoon hours ahead of the announcement.

Cutcliffe and Helton had a unique bond a relationship that extended far beyond football or baseball. Cutcliffe recruited Helton out of Central High School almost single handily. The two became life long friends. In fact, Helton spent part of an off-season at Duke with his former quarterback coach rehabbing an injury and working out before spring training. He was there with Peyton Manning who was doing the same. 

For Cutcliffe, Helton was a breath of air. The one time starter in 1994 was never shy with an opinion or a thought. Always respectful, but never afraid to challenge anyone. As was the case in the Rose Bowl when Helton was pressed into action. 

“He said ‘hey coach Cut, when you got a bad pitcher on the mound, you got to call a good game. Now get off your ass and call the game,” Cutcliffe recalled of his quarterback’s call to arms. “We had a unique relationship. Being from Knoxville, I pretty much solely recruited Todd. I chuckled when he said it and it relaxed me. We almost came back and got the win.”

The 1994 quarterback room that featured now two Hall of Fame players in two different sports was one for the ages. Even though it became the Peyton Manning era in 1994, there was a time following Jerry Colquitt’s injury in game one that the position room belonged to the guy who many felt was more on loan from baseball than he was signal-caller. Make no mistake, Helton could play. 

“Todd in the quarterback room was not as wickedly focused as a Peyton Manning was. But Todd never gave up the alpha position. He saw things on the practice field. He had better vision than people knew. He can and could compute things every bit as quickly as Peyton could, which is what made Peyton’s career a Hall of Fame career. Todd kept his seat at the table as the alpha, so to speak, until his injury (against Mississippi State). Then Peyton and Brandon Stewart became the story. But what a fierce competitor at practice. I would be back behind him in the pocket and he would make a decision and I would say, ‘Todd why did you go there with the ball’.  And he would have a quick ‘well the safety rotated here and the linebacker did this’ and I was like ‘I didn’t see that.’ Then I would look at the film and it was exactly what he said it was. Todd Helton didn’t hit a baseball. He hit the threads (stitches). He could see in slow motion. I doubt there are or were very many hitters that could say that. But I believe that about Todd Helton.” 

As for being challenged, Cutcliffe said all great players should challenge coaches and he’s grateful for the way Helton challenged him.

“In lecturing or doing clinics around the country, I reference Todd about those things,” Cutcliffe stated. “There’s not a really good coach out there that wouldn’t tell you quickly that they learn more from their players than they learn looking at film. Players should challenge you. The great ones are going to be functional thinkers. They want to know and give you that feed back. It was critical to my success to learn to be a good listeners. You’re not a lecturer as a coach, you are a conversationalist. I think that’s where a lot of coaches that coach quarterbacks miss it. They tend to lecture and show power points, etc. It’s a conversation and you get more out of it than they get. I think what a good coach is, you teach them everything you know and they actually know more because they are the functional part and you get out of their way.

“I was glad to get out of Todd Helton’s way and learn from him.” 

Tonight, the former pupil and teacher, who have become great friends, celebrate one of the greatest achievements in sports — a seat in Cooperstown.