Kentucky football names Cutter Boley its starting quarterback vs. South Carolina
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- Kentucky named redshirt freshman Cutter Boley its starting quarterback Monday.
- Boley replaced Zach Calzada, who struggled early and injured his shoulder vs. Ole Miss.
- Boley earned promotion after throwing for 240 yards and 2 TDs vs. Eastern Michigan.
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Kentucky football officially has a new starting quarterback.
Redshirt freshman Cutter Boley, who impressed while starting the Wildcats’ last game against Eastern Michigan with previous starter Zach Calzada unavailable due to a shoulder injury, was elevated to the No. 1 spot on the depth chart Monday in advance of UK’s game at South Carolina. UK coach Mark Stoops has long described Boley as UK’s quarterback of the future, but he told reporters before the season he was unsure when that future would arrive.
“Cutter has done some really good things, and you’ve heard me talk about him many different times,” UK coach Mark Stoops said Monday after acknowledging Calzada was still not 100% healthy. “We’ve watched him play in other games and show flashes, and we’ve been very confident in Cutter.
“I’ve also told him the whole time, ‘You’re going to get your opportunity.’ It’s about what you do and how you play when you get that opportunity. I thought he did some very good things in this last game. It’s a lot to build on, and he’s getting more confident. He’s getting more comfortable with every rep.”
Calzada’s struggles before his injury and Boley’s performance against Eastern Michigan appear to have accelerated the timeline. Calzada and senior Beau Allen were both listed at No. 2 on the depth chart with Calzada’s status still uncertain.
Boley completed 12 of 21 passes for 240 yards and two touchdowns against Eastern Michigan, but the quality of competition will increase dramatically this week. South Carolina has dropped out of the Associated Press Top 25 after back-to-back losses to Vanderbilt and Missouri, but it surrendered no more than 177 passing yards in either of those games.
Calzada, a transfer from Incarnate Word, started the first two games of the season against Toledo and Ole Miss but completed just 25 of 53 passes for 234 yards and one interception. He suffered an injury to his throwing shoulder late in the loss to Ole Miss. Calzada was in uniform for the Eastern Michigan game but did not participate in warmups, making him only available in an emergency situation.
Saturday’s game will mark Boley’s fourth career appearance against an SEC foe.
He went 0-for-6 with a pick six in his collegiate debut late in a blowout loss at Florida as a freshman. Boley fared much better later in the season when he came off the bench in the second half at Texas, completing 10 of 18 passes for 160 yards and one interception. Boley completed 1 of 3 passes against Ole Miss while running the offense for the final two drives earlier this season after Calzada’s injury.
“I thought he did a very good job (against Eastern Michigan),” Stoops said. “I mean, it’s easy for all of us to watch the film afterwards and dissect it, and maybe have some opportunities that were there that maybe were missed. But overall, he was very comfortable. He’s very confident. And he played well.”
This story was originally published September 22, 2025 at 11:41 AM.
