Cutter Boley Wasn’t Sure if he Would be Ready for College Football in 2024 but now he’s Confident

Quarterback Cutter Boley might have committed to Tennessee if Liam Coen had not returned to UK. (Tops Magazine Photo)

Lexington Christian Academy junior quarterback Cutter Boley would be the highest rated quarterback to sign with Kentucky since Tim Couch in 1996. Couch went on to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 1999 NFL draft.

Boley, who has verbally committed to UK, had contemplated using his COVID year to be a 2025 recruit to make sure he was prepared to be a big-time college quarterback. He decided to back into the 2024 class based on feedback he got from college coaches this spring.

“Some of the coaches at Penn State acted like they’d even take me as a 2023. A year ago today, I didn’t know where my body would be physically and if I could play in college. But I feel I’m prepared to play at the collegiate level now,” Boley said.

“I just feel like I’m ready to go. I just want to get there as soon as I can (he plans to enroll at UK in January), start learning the offense, start learning the playbook.”

Offensive coordinator Liam Coen obviously believes so. He started recruiting Boley in 2021 when he was named UK’s offensive coordinator, stayed in touch even when he rejoined the Los Angeles Rams for the 2022 season and made Boley a priority when he returned to UK in January.

“It was Coen coming back, building that relationship with him. They’ve got something special going on over there with the offense. I just wanted to be a part of it,” Boley said about why he picked Kentucky.

 “I feel like I grew up a Kentucky fan. I’ve always bled blue since I was young. It’s definitely just going to be nice to represent everyone out here that’s supported me.”

If Coen had not returned to lead the UK offense, Boley probably would be playing in the Southeastern Conference but not at Kentucky.

“Tennessee was ahead for a while,” Boley admitted. “Michigan, all those top five schools, Florida State, they all really made a push for me and they all recruited me really hard.”

Boley started working months ago to position himself to be an early graduate so he could enroll at UK in January. His father, Scott, said it was not always easy to graduate early at private schools.

“He got some online stuff to do this summer but he’s almost a 4.0 (grade-point average) student. His idea was to find the perfect fight and if it was better to be a 2024 recruit, fine,” Scott Boley said. “For Kentucky, he feels like being a 2024 guy is the right move.”