Cutter Boley (Vicky Graff Photo)
Deciding to let freshman quarterback Cutter Boley make his first start against rival Louisville on Saturday should have been a relatively easy decision for Kentucky coach Mark Stoops.
First, Kentucky is 4-7 and while starting quarterback Brock Vandagriff is not the sole blame for that, UK’s offense has not been productive. Boley went 0-for-6 in his collegiate debut late in Kentucky’s loss at Florida but in the last two games he is 20-for-32 passing for 290 yards and two touchdowns.
In last week’s loss at No. 3 Texas, he was 10-for-18 passing for 160 yards — 8.9 yards per attempt. It was the third most passing yards Texas has given up this year and he did it while playing only the second half. He also averaged more yards per attempt than any other quarterback Texas has faced this season. He had five completions that went for 15 yards or more against the nation’s No. 1 passing defense.
“I thought he handled himself very well. He had a lot of poise in the pocket, I thought he distributed the football, had the vision to hit open receivers, the arm strength to get the ball down the field on the second play, you saw a lot of good things,” Stoops said.
“Even the play that was called back for a hold, an all-out pressure, gave some ground, threw it to an open area and completed a very difficult pass there. I thought he did some really good things and he deserves the opportunity to get a start here this week.”
Second, Kentucky needs a spark. Not just the team, but the whole fan base. Saturday’s noon game at Kroger Field now suddenly is a lot more intriguing to UK fans as they will get to see what they hope is the start of the Cutter Boley Era. He will be the first Lexington high school quarterback to start a game at UK in 20 years.
“He’s just got that feel, he’s got the moxie. He is the type of guy, he gets along with absolutely everybody on the team. He fits in with everybody. He has a very good personality that way,” Stoops said.
“I think they know he’s got that moxie or swagger or whatever you want to call it, that when he gets in there he has a strong belief in himself and he sees the field well also.”
Fans also have that belief in Boley and his personality/swagger. He makes quick, confident decisions. Even if he makes a bad play, he puts it behind him and is ready for more.
Obviously, playing the second half against Murray State with a nice lead at home is one thing. Playing the second half at Texas in front of over 100,000 fans with UK trailing is another thing and Boley passed that test even if UK did not get into the end zone.
Because UK is not bowl eligible, Boley does not have to worry about burning his redshirt year since he’s allowed to play in four games without losing the redshirt season. Boley understood he probably would be playing behind Vandagriff this season.
“If you just look at him, the way he’s mentally grown, even physically, the weight that he’s put on and things like that, it doesn’t take you guys long to see how physical and how hard it is to play in this league,” Stoops said about Boley.
“I’m not sure there’s a perfect way to do any of that. When a young man’s ready, he’s ready. This is his first start. I feel like he’s ready for that, and I’m excited for him, excited for our team.”
5 Responses
Giving Boley the start is the right choice, but I’m sure it was not easy for Stoops. Stoops has been a very loyal coach to his staff and the players. Sometimes too loyal, so I know this was a hard decision for him. He knew it was the right one, but still a hard one. I commend him for making this decision, and this might possibly be the start of seeing Stoops make some much needed changes for this team.
Well said and thank you for being a voice of reason.
Stoops is giving Boley reps for next year. My guess is Griff will move on. Handwriting is on the wall.
Boley can see the field and Brock can’t. Boley makes quick decisions which is critical when you don’t have a good o line. Also Boley has great Moxy in the pocket. He doesn’t get happy feet. He doesn’t look nervous. He actually looks like he’s the red shirt junior and Brock is the true freshman. The only reason I can see for this decision so late was to preserve the redshirt. Get a extra year on the back half of his career instead of the front half. I think Boley has a good season next year as a redshirt freshman. Then he dominates for 3 years. He has a strong arm. It looks like a fastball coming out of his hands, but something else I noticed that if it’s a short pass he puts touch on the football. He doesn’t throw it 100mph for a 5 yard pass like Brock and Leary did. Would you even want Brock as a backup quarterback at this point? I think he needs to go to a smaller conference or maybe even division 2 or division 3 football? Maybe like a South Dakota. I could also see him transfer back to Georgia for his last year. That is his dream school and I do think they would take him back as a third string quarterback?
Realized just now?
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