How Kentucky football’s 4-star QBs before Cutter Boley fared in college
Cutter Boley is something of a unicorn for Kentucky football in the recruiting website era.
Since Rivals.com started publishing recruiting rankings online in 2001, Kentucky has signed just five quarterbacks the website rated as a four-star recruit. None were ranked as high as Boley, who Rivals pegged as the No. 12 prospect in the high school class of 2025 before he announced he was reclassifying to 2024 when he committed to UK on Thursday.
Boley is the most-hyped quarterback recruit to commit to Kentucky since Tim Couch, a high school All-American whose high school tenure predated the recruiting website era, signed with the Wildcats in 1995.
The next task for Boley will be converting that recruiting hype into on-field production. Kentucky’s track record with four-star quarterbacks has been a mixed bag.
Here is a look at how the previous four-star quarterbacks to sign with the Wildcats fared in college.
Andre’ Woodson
The No. 7 pro-style quarterback in the class of 2023 according to Rivals, Woodson needed time to develop at Kentucky but left college as one of the program’s all-time greats. Woodson’s breakout season came as a fourth-year junior in 2006. He threw for 3,515 yards that season, helping Kentucky end a six-year bowl drought. Woodson’s 3,709 passing yards as a senior are third-most in a single season in program history. He holds the UK record for career touchdown passes (79) and ranks second in career passing yards (9,360).
Ryan Mossakowski
Mossakowski never fully overcame a shoulder injury he suffered as a senior in high school. After Rivals ranked the Texas native as the No 14 pro-style quarterback in the 2009 high school class, Mossakowski appeared in just two games as a Wildcat — without attempting a pass — before transferring. He made stops at Northwest Mississippi Community College and Lamar after leaving UK.
Patrick Towles
Towles arrived at Kentucky during a point of transition for the program as the No. 9-ranked pro-style quarterback in the high school class of 2012. Towles closed out the Joker Phillips era as a freshman and served as the primary quarterback early in the Mark Stoops era. There were signs of promise from Towles, most notably a 390-yard passing performance against No. 1 Mississippi State in 2014, but he was never able to consistently overcome a lack of talent around him. He was eventually benched as a junior, electing to transfer to Boston College for his final college season. In 28 games for Kentucky, Towles threw for 5,099 yards, 24 touchdowns and 24 interceptions.
Drew Barker
One of the biggest recruiting wins in Stoops’ first full recruiting cycle at Kentucky, Barker was ranked as the No. 5 pro-style quarterback in the class of 2014. After overcoming a series of embarrassing off-field headlines early in his UK tenure, Barker opened the 2016 season as UK’s starter. He threw for 323 yards and four touchdowns in a season-opening loss to Southern Miss but suffered a back injury in that game that would essentially end his college career. He played in just six more games as a Wildcat, attempting 19 more passes. Barker first announced he was transferring after the 2017 season but eventually elected to give up football rather than enroll at another school.
Beau Allen
Like Boley, Allen committed to Kentucky as a Lexington high school star, but the Lexington Catholic graduate never started a game for the Wildcats before transferring to FCS Tarleton State. Allen appeared in five games across two seasons at Kentucky. He served as Will Levis’ primary backup in 2021, completing 8 of 12 passes for 92 yards. Allen will return to FBS football in 2023 at Georgia Southern. Rivals ranked Allen as the No. 20 pro-style quarterback in the 2020 high school class.
This story was originally published May 18, 2023 at 1:39 PM.