North Central College Cardinals

Career Highlights: 2019 Gagliardi Trophy winner; NCAA Division III career passing leader (14,265 yards); Five-time All-American; Three-time All-Region selection; Two-time D3football.com North Region Offensive Player of the Year; Four-time First Team All-CCIW selection; Three-time CCIW Offensive Player of the Year; Set 19 program records; 2019 Stagg Bowl Champion 

 

Broc Rutter ’20 quarterbacked the 2019 North Central College football team to its first NCAA Division III national championship, doing so in dominant fashion. The Naperville native transferred to North Central and started all 12 games his freshman season, earning the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) Offensive Player of the Year award and All-Region honors while leading the Cardinals to the 2016 NCAA Division III Tournament. Taking North Central to the postseason again as a sophomore, Rutter threw for nearly 3,000 yards with 21 touchdowns. He set four program records as a junior in 2018, including 3,539 passing yards, which ranked third nationally. He threw for five touchdowns against Elmhurst and ran for four scores in a playoff game against Hanover. Rutter earned the CCIW Offensive Player of the Year award in 2018, along with the D3football.com North Region Offensive Player of the Year, two All-American honors and recognition as one of 13 Gagliardi Trophy semifinalists. Following a 9-1 regular season, the Cardinals secured the final spot in the 2019 NCAA Tournament. After an opening round victory over Wabash at home, Rutter engineered arguably the biggest win in program history: a 59-52 shootout over No. 2-ranked Mount Union in Alliance, Ohio, throwing for a school record 522 yards and five touchdowns and adding 43 yards and a score on the ground to lead a dramatic fourth quarter comeback. The Cardinals advanced to their first-ever Stagg Bowl, where Rutter quarterbacked North Central to a 41-14 victory over UW-Whitewater to claim the program’s first national championship. Along the way he earned the program’s first Gagliardi Trophy and three All-America honors, and established single-season records for passing yards (4,591), passing touchdowns (56) and completion percentage (71.0%). He finished his career as the NCAA Division III leader with 14,265 passing yards and the most career games with at least 200 passing yards (44). Rutter set 19 program records during his time as a Cardinal.