How Liam Coen’s return to Kentucky paved the way for Cutter Boley’s commitment
Liam Coen’s first game in his second stint as Kentucky football offensive coordinator is still more than three months away, but he has already handed the Wildcats an important win.
Asked Thursday why he committed to Kentucky over offers from most of the traditional college football powers, four-star Lexington Christian Academy quarterback Cutter Boley was clear.
“It was Coen coming back,” he said.
Boley was already generating recruiting buzz as a high school sophomore during Coen’s first stint at UK in 2021, but he played for a LaRue County offense that emphasized the run. In 11 games that season, Boley attempted just 165 total passes, throwing for 1,391 yards, 11 touchdowns and seven interceptions.
During Coen’s year as offensive coordinator of the Los Angeles Rams, Boley’s stock soared. He transferred to LCA, where he threw for 3,901 yards, 36 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. Rivals.com ranked him as the No. 12 prospect in the class of 2025.
The scholarship offers began to pile up.
“He’s a Kentucky guy, but there’s a lot of schools that were frankly ahead of Kentucky before Liam came back,” LCA head coach Doug Charles said.
Boley said all the right things about the Wildcats as he starred just a few miles from Kroger Field. Speaking after his LCA debut, Boley spoke of a strong relationship with then UK offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello, but NCAA rules limited the amount of contact he could have with the staff since he was still planning to enroll as part of the class of 2025.
As Kentucky’s offense floundered under Scangarello’s leadership, Boley had to wonder if staying home was best for his future. Tennessee emerged as an early leader as Josh Heupel’s high-octane offense propelled the Volunteers to playoff contention.
Kentucky Coach Mark Stoops fired Scangarello after the regular-season finale. Coen agreed to return to Lexington in December, but he and Kentucky agreed to delay the announcement until the Rams’ season ended.
“Like the day he got back he was all over me,” Boley said.
Coen has acknowledged taking a more hands-on approach to recruiting evaluations during his second stint at Kentucky thanks to a greater knowledge of the college football scene, but the lack of scholarship offers to class of 2024 quarterbacks was noteworthy. By landing N.C. State quarterback Devin Leary in the transfer portal to replace second-round NFL Draft pick Will Levis, Kentucky had begun to position itself as a top destination for transfer quarterbacks while still struggling to land top high school talent at the position.
“Quarterback is a difficult position to evaluate at this level,” Coen said during spring practice. “Until you really get with them and work with them in person. It’s hard at times to watch a Hudl tape, sometimes from like eight miles in the sky and see a kid’s motion and how he can play the game.”
With Boley in Lexington, there were plenty of opportunities for Coen to evaluate his skills.
Coen appeared to be focusing much of his high school quarterback recruiting efforts on the class of 2025, targeting Boley and fellow four-star prospects Stone Saunders and Ryan Montgomery. Pursuing that trio made more sense as chatter grew that Boley, who was initially planning a year at a prep school after graduating from LCA in 2024, would instead choose to enroll in college immediately after graduation.
Boley confirmed that move Thursday. He will now be on UK’s campus in January, just weeks after Leary plays his final college game.
“Every school in the country wouldn’t be after him if he didn’t have the right skill set,” LCA quarterbacks coach and former UK quarterback Morgan Newton said of Boley. “The ball just jumps off his hand. … The tangibles are all there. He’s tall, he’s physical, he’s fast, a good athlete. So, he has all the tools to be highly successful.”
Even with Coen back at Kentucky, many of the traditional powers continued to pursue Boley.
On the eve of his announcement, with rumors circling he had already informed Kentucky’s coaches of his plan to commit to the Wildcats, a coach from a “big program in the west” called Charles to try and set up one final call with Boley.
But Boley’s decision had already been made.
“I think we’re shutting it down,” Charles told the coach.
Boley makes no secret of his long affection for Kentucky. Like many kids around the state, Boley grew in LaRue County rooting for the Wildcats. Boley acknowledged Thursday he might have ultimately committed to the Wildcats even if Coen had not returned.
But the Wildcats landing their most-hyped high school quarterback recruit since Tim Couch was no sure thing in that scenario. It certainly would have taken longer for Boley to make his decision, eliminating the chance for him to help sway other top prospects in the class to Kentucky.
“They’ve got something special going on over there with the offense,” Boley said. “I just wanted to be a part of it.”