Kentucky football QB Cutter Boley is entering the transfer portal
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Cutter Boley entered the transfer portal, ending his two-season Kentucky tenure.
- As 2025 starter he completed 65.8% for 2,160 yards, 15 TDs and 12 interceptions.
- Coach Will Stein likely will seek transfer competition given emphasis on QB accuracy.
The Will Stein era for Kentucky football will apparently begin with a new starting quarterback.
Redshirt freshman Cutter Boley told ESPN on Friday he will enter the transfer portal, likely ending his stint as one of the most-hyped quarterback recruits to play for the Wildcats after just two seasons.
A former LaRue County and Lexington Christian Academy star, Boley committed to UK as a five-star prospect when now Jacksonville Jaguars coach Liam Coen was offensive coordinator. Boley was later rated as a four-star prospect by the major recruiting services after reclassifying to the high school class of 2024 to graduate a year earlier than originally planned.
Boley then appeared in four games while redshirting as a UK freshman, building hype with impressive performances in the second halves of games versus Texas and Murray State. He opened the 2025 season as the backup to transfer Zach Calzada but took over the starting job just three weeks into the season.
As a redshirt freshman, Boley completed 65.8% of his passes for 2,160 yards with 15 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He was named the QB on the SEC’s All-Freshman team after the season.
Former UK coach Mark Stoops frequently spoke of the ability to build around Boley and not need to sign another transfer quarterback as reason to hope for a quick turnaround in 2026. Boley indicated after the season-ending loss to Louisville that he wanted to return to UK, but even if Stoops had not been fired it was too early to assume that would be the case.
Replacing Stoops with Stein, the coordinator for one of the most exciting offenses in college football at Oregon, seemingly gave Boley more reason to stay in Lexington, but Stein was noncommittal about building around Boley in his first public interviews.
“Not just Cutter, but everybody on the team I’m excited to coach,” Stein said when asked about Boley at his introductory news conference, which Boley attended along with several other teammates. “This is a great opportunity for me. I know we have a lot of great players here. Ready to get working with them.”
After offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan changed the offense midseason to focus on quick, short passes that simplified Boley’s decision-making process, Boley looked like the quarterback of the future that the previous coaching staff had hyped him to be since his commitment in high school. He completed at least 74% of his passes in four of five games from Oct. 18 to Nov. 15 with nine touchdowns and four interceptions.
The progress stalled for Boley and the rest of the offense in the final two games, though.
In a 45-17 loss at Vanderbilt, Boley completed just 59.1% of his passes with 203 of his 280 passing yards coming in the fourth quarter after UK had already fallen behind by 42 points. He completed just 13 of 26 passes for 100 yards and two interceptions in the season-ending 41-0 loss at Louisville.
“I feel like my overall command of the offense, just kind of being a captain and just managing the offense as a whole (improved in 2025),” Boley said after the Louisville game. “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. I just need to improve overall.”
Turnovers were a particular issue for Boley, who has thrown 17 touchdowns and 16 interceptions in his career. He also lost two fumbles this season. Three of his 2025 turnovers were returned for touchdowns.
Stein pointed to accuracy as a key trait he looks for in quarterbacks. Given his track record in helping turn three straight transfer quarterbacks (Bo Nix, Dillon Gabriel and Dante Moore) into stars at Oregon, he seemed likely to at least bring in competition for Boley for next season.
On3 reported Thursday Arizona State is the favorite to sign Boley. North Carolina, Virginia Tech and Nebraska were other schools in the mix, according to the report.
UK’s now has just one quarterback with remaining eligibility on the roster: freshman Brennan Ward. Ward made one brief cameo in the blowout win over FCS Tennessee tech. Stone Saunders, who did not appear in a game this season, plans to enter the transfer portal. Calzada and walk-on backup Beau Allen graduated.
Earlier Thursday, before news of Boley’s transfer plans broke, ESPN reported UK was among the suitors for TCU transfer quarterback Josh Hoover. Indiana has been reported to be the favorite for Hoover’s commitment but is still waiting for final word on whether Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza will declare for the NFL draft.
Even if Stein did not see Boley as the best option to build his first Kentucky offense around, the need to find a transfer quarterback will affect the rest of UK’s transfer strategy since a large portion of the revenue sharing and NIL budget will now need to be devoted to a starting quarterback.
UK has several holes on defense to fill after transfer announcements from cornerback DJ Waller, defensive lineman Jerod Smith and edge rusher Steven Soles. The Wildcats also need to replace the entire starting offensive line and add at least one starting-caliber receiver.
This story was originally published January 1, 2026 at 4:18 PM.