They say it every week. They have a lot of respect for — Fill In The Quarterback's Name here.

Maybe they mean it; maybe they just say the right things to avoid bulletin-board material.

This week, however, there's no doubt. Tennessee gives a sincere bow to Vanderbilt quarterback Jay Cutler.

"Jay Cutler is a gamer,'' senior linebacker Jason Mitchell said Tuesday.

"He will try not to lose at all cost.''

Cutler earned his reputation over four years starting for a struggling program. He's taken his licks and kept coming back, improving as a quarterback each season.

"He knows where to go with the ball,'' said UT defensive coordinator John Chavis, "and he gets rid of it really well, probably as quick as anyone we've seen.''

The Vols and Cutler dance one more dance Saturday at Neyland Stadium. Kickoff is at 12:30 p.m.

This will be his fourth — and final — start against Tennessee. He would love to go out with a bang, doing what no Vandy quarterback has done since Whit Taylor in 1982 — beat the Vols.

"He's everything you look for in a quarterback,'' said another senior linebacker, Omar Gaither.

"He does everything right. He's smart. He makes all the right moves. He's accurate. He can run.''

Gaither isn't the only one who thinks Cutler is the complete package. He is rated the fourth-best prospect at quarterback for the 2006 NFL draft according to nfldraftcountdown.com. Two of the three ahead of him are Heisman Trophy candidates, Matt Leinhart of Southern Cal and Vince Young of Texas.

It would be interesting to see how Cutler, the first three-year captain in Vandy history, would fare at a marquee program, surrounded by blue-chip recruits.

The 6-foot-4, 228-pound senior from Santa Claus, Ind., has been far more productive as an individual than Vanderbilt has as a program.

His 8,382 passing yards are tops for active SEC quarterbacks and rank 13th all-time.

He owns three of the top four passing-yardage efforts in the league this season, including a 395-yard game against Kentucky last week.

"He's done it all,'' said Vanderbilt coach Bobby Johnson. "He's run our offense about as good as you could possibly run it.

"Any success we've had this year is largely due to Jay.''

The Vols say Cutler is as good as any quarterback they've faced this year. Because Cutler is also dangerous afoot, Georgia's D.J. Shockley was a comparison mentioned several times Tuesday at UT's media day.

"They're very similar,'' said Gaither. "The only thing is maybe he (Cutler) may not be as fast.

"If you take away a few tenths of a second on a 40, then you get Cutler.''

Shockley, Chavis noted, "came in here and got after us pretty good.''

After two fruitless outings against Tennessee in 2002 and 2003 — UT won by a combined 72-0 — Cutler got after the Vols pretty good last year in Nashville.

He was 22-of-33 passing for 312 yards in a 38-33 loss.

"He enjoys playing the game,'' said Mitchell, who laughs when he recalls Cutler and Gaither having words in last year's game.

"That was funny,'' Mitchell said. "Most quarterbacks that are gamers won't back down from anyone.

"You see Peyton (Manning) talking to a defensive tackle. You don't know what he's saying, but you know he's standing his ground. Teams respect quarterbacks like that.''

Gaither doesn't exactly remember what he said to Cutler last year — except that it cost the Vols 15 yards for unsportsmanlike conduct.

"I said a few things I probably wish I could take back, but we understand it's a game,'' Gaither said.

"We'll go in Saturday and play hard and after the game shake hands.''

Like a couple of gamers should do.