Cutter Boley will hope to reverse trend of Kentucky QB switches in Stoops era

A shoulder injury to Zach Calzada might have made Mark Stoops’ decision to name Cutter Boley his new starting quarterback easier, but all signs pointed to a switch regardless of Calzada’s status.

Now, Boley will have a chance to run with the job, accelerating his ascension to the role he was projected to eventually take since he signed with UK as a much-hyped recruit from Lexington Christian Academy. What happens next will depend on Boley’s performance and the help of his teammates, but quarterback switches have rarely worked in the Stoops era.

At least six times previously in his UK tenure, Stoops has publicly opened the quarterback job for competition during the season. That’s not even including the 2019 season when Kentucky lost its top three quarterbacks to injuries and was eventually forced to move wide receiver Lynn Bowden to the position.

In all but one of those scenarios, the quarterback who was benched eventually was thrust back into action for key snaps.

Stoops confirmed Calzada is still not 100% healthy after suffering an injury to his throwing shoulder earlier this month against Ole Miss, but he declined to elaborate on how long Calzada would be sidelined. If Calzada is unavailable, senior walk-on Beau Allen will serve as Boley’s top backup. Freshman Brennan Ward would likely be the next option.

Stoops and company will hope Boley plays well enough to end any questions about the backup. That would buck the trend for the Stoops era, though.

Here is a look at the previous times Stoops has benched his starting quarterback.

2013

It took just one game for Stoops to make his first quarterback switch at Kentucky. Jalen Whitlow started the 2013 opener, a loss to Western Kentucky, but Maxwell Smith also appeared in the game off the bench. Smith then was elevated to starter for Week 2 against Miami (Ohio), the first win of the Stoops era. After two starts by Smith, Whitlow regained the starting job. Smith would start twice more though as Whitlow battled injuries. Whitlow’s UK career ended the following spring when he elected to transfer rather than consider a position switch to wide receiver.

2015

After starting every game in 2014, Patrick Towles opened 2015 with plenty of job security. But when Kentucky looked poised for a second straight second-half collapse that would prevent it from reaching bowl eligibility, redshirt freshman Drew Barker began to see more opportunities off the bench. After completing 5 of 8 passes for 60 yards, one touchdown and one interception off the bench in a loss at Vanderbilt, Barker was named the starter for the final two games. Kentucky did not need him to throw much in a 58-10 blowout of Charlotte, but with bowl eligibility on the line against Louisville in the finale, Barker completed just 6 of 22 passes for 128 yards. Stoops went back to Towles with Kentucky trailing by 14 late in the fourth quarter. Towles completed his first three passes on the drive but then threw an interception to end any hope of a comeback. The next day, Towles announced he would transfer for his final season of eligibility.

2016

Barker opened the next season as UK’s starter, and looked excellent in the first half of the season opener against Southern Miss. He took a hit just before halftime of what ended up being an embarrassing home loss though that would derail his career. Barker started the next two games but was clearly limited by the back injury. Junior college transfer Stephen Johnson came off the bench in Week 3 against New Mexico State after Barker threw an interception on UK’s first drive. Johnson would finish that game with 310 passing yards. He started 22 of the next 23 games across two seasons for UK with the lone reserve appearance coming in a game against FCS Austin Peay when UK coaches initially tried to hold him out of action due to a minor injury. Barker would play in five games as Johnson’s backup in 2017 before electing to give up football.

2018

Junior college transfer Terry Wilson started every game in Kentucky’s first 10-win season since 1977, but Stoops opened the job for competition once that season after Wilson threw for just 18 yards in a win over Vanderbilt. Wilson started the next week at Missouri, but backups Gunnar Hoak and Danny Clark also played in the game. Stoops and offensive coordinator Eddie Gran abandoned the plan to play multiple quarterbacks the next week though, sticking with Wilson for the rest of the season.

2020

Wilson opened the 2020 season as UK’s starter after returning from a torn patellar tendon suffered in Week 2 in 2019, but the SEC’s move to an 10-game conference-only schedule due to the COVID-19 pandemic quickly exposed a UK offense that had grown too one-dimensional without a legitimate passing attack. After Wilson threw for just 38 yards in a loss at Missouri, Stoops told reporters he would open the starting job for competition, but he later said Wilson had suffered a wrist injury in the Missouri game that would keep him from practicing the next week. Auburn transfer Joey Gatewood started against Georgia but fared little better in a 14-3 loss. Wilson regained his starting job for the final five games before electing to transfer for his final season of eligibility.

2024

Georgia transfer Brock Vandagriff, a former five-star high school recruit, received little help from a porous offensive line and inconsistent cast of skill position players around him in one season at Kentucky, but eventually his own struggles led to a change at quarterback. Backup Gavin Wimsatt, who played extensively in wildcat formations early in the season, was handed the reins of the offense in the second half of an October loss to Auburn, but Kentucky failed to score on any of his three drives. Vandagriff retained the starting job for the next three weeks, but Boley played the entire second half in November games against Murray State and Texas. Boley was then named the starter for the season finale versus Louisville. Vandagriff dressed for that game but did not play after Boley was sidelined by a concussion. He later announced he was retiring with one season of eligibility remaining, paving the way for UK to sign Calzada as a transfer last winter.

This story was originally published September 23, 2025 at 6:00 AM.

Jon Hale

Lexington Herald-Leader

(859) 414-6776

Jon Hale is the University of Kentucky football beat writer for the Lexington Herald-Leader. He joined the Herald-Leader in 2022 but has covered UK athletics for more than 10 years. Hale was named the 2021 Kentucky Sportswriter of the Year. Support my work with a digital subscription