‘I wanna play for Kentucky.’ Cutter Boley reaffirms commitment to UK football
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- Cutter Boley reaffirms commitment to Kentucky after emotional season finale.
- Boley posted 2,160 yards, 15 TDs and 12 INTs while improving completion rate.
- He accepts responsibility for loss and vows to refine leadership and mechanics.
With tears in his eyes, an emotional Cutter Boley reaffirmed his commitment to playing for Kentucky next season following the Wildcats’ 41-0 loss at Louisville Saturday afternoon.
“This is definitely where I want to be,” the redshirt freshman quarterback said when asked about his plans for next year. “I wanna play for Kentucky.”
Against the Cardinals in UK’s season finale, Boley completed 13 of his 26 passing attempts for 100 yards. He threw two interceptions, and was sacked a career-high-tying six times. Kentucky was outscored 86-17 in its final two games of the 2025 campaign.
When asked if he was surprised by the outcome of the Governor’s Cup, Boley took personal responsibility for the team’s loss.
“I’m embarrassed by my performance as an individual,” Boley said. “We had a lot of opportunities to do some things out there. Louisville played well as a defense, and overall, we’ve just gotta play better.”
During the 2025 campaign, Boley jumped initial starter Zach Calzada on the depth chart following an injury the seventh-year quarterback sustained in UK’s Week 2 loss to Ole Miss.
Since taking over under center, Boley led the Wildcats to four wins — including two in Southeastern Conference play — and six losses. Boley set a new record for completion percentage by a Kentucky freshman QB (66%).
Offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan, who has praised Boley’s growth all season, said there’s never “just one thing” for a quarterback to work on in preparation for another year, but that he believes in what Boley has been able to accomplish.
“For sure, it’s just to keep taking those lessons,” Hamdan said. “The good, the bad. The pain will be there, but the experience is just something he’s gotta lean on. And really, again, take the things of the success he had in the middle of the year, and then again, the learning points that we all can have to make him more successful…This is not something that he’s just gonna do for another year, he’s gonna be playing football for a long, long time.”
Through 11 games played, Boley completed 198 of his 301 passing attempts for a total of 2,160 yards and 15 touchdown passes. He threw 12 interceptions. Boley also rushed for 256 yards and two scores.
Though questions remain regarding the future of the coaching staff, Boley noted that he has a strong relationship with both Hamdan and head coach Mark Stoops.
“I have a really close relationship with both of those guys,” Boley said. “We’re really real and honest with each other. There’s not much to say about today, except [Louisville] kind of beat us as a whole. They beat us. Gotta play better.”
Until the coaching staff is settled, it’s unlikely BoIey can have certainty about his future. He figures to draw attention from other programs once the tranfer portal opens Jan. 2.
On Saturday, though, Boley set an intention to continue to get better as a player and leader for Kentucky.
“I feel like my overall command of the offense (has improved), just kind of being a captain and just managing the offense as a whole,” Boley said. “I feel like there’s a variety of areas I still need to get better in. There’s not one specific one I need to get better, but there’s a ton of areas I just need to improve at. I just need to improve overall as a quarterback.”
This story was originally published November 29, 2025 at 5:40 PM.
