Vicky Graff Photo
While Kentucky coach Mark Stoops has yet to declare who will start at quarterback Saturday against Eastern Michigan, the smart money has to be on redshirt freshman Cutter Boley.
Not only was starting quarterback Zach Calzada not overly productive or efficient in UK’s first two games, but he also injured his shoulder late in the loss to Ole Miss last Saturday. That should easily clear the way for Boley to make his second career start, with his first coming in UK’s lopsided loss to Louisville to end last season.
Scott Boley, Cutter’s father, spoke to UK radio play-by-play announcer Tom Leach on The Leach Report Tuesday.
Boley, a former college basketball player, told Leach that his son has another year of experience and “feels so much more comfortable” running UK’s offense than he did a year ago.
“He has put on 20-some pounds, so that makes you feel better. He told me after the last game (against Ole Miss), he didn’t feel nervous at all (when he came into the game) and that it felt like practice. That’s good that he is more comfortable, period,” Scott Boley said.
He said he didn’t ask his son a lot about football and prefers to let the redshirt freshman tell him what he wants to share.
“He does truly enjoy what he’s doing. I remember him telling me after spring practice that when his alarm (clock) goes off that he can’t wait to get to the (practice) facility. That doesn’t guarantee success, but it doesn’t hurt, either,” Scott Boley said.
Scott Boley admitted he didn’t realize what a “tight window” his son had to complete a long pass to Hardley Gilmore late in the Ole Miss loss.
“I think he will be willing with time under his belt to let it (the ball) go. Hopefully, we can get that going and get it out of his hand a little quicker. I think he is willing to do that for sure,” Scott Boley said.
The father believes his son has “great rapport” with his teammates on and off the field.
“Not that he tells me anything, but I see when I am with him the way he gets along with teammates and the way they respond to him. Both in the short term and long term, that can be a really good thing,” Scott Boley said.
“When we first moved to Lexington (during Cutter’s high school career), my wife would always cook at night. She stopped cooking because he would stay at practice and watch film, and hang out with the guys. He is willing to hang and stay because he wants to get better, but he also truly enjoys it. I don’t know if you can force that. You either have that demeanor or you don’t.”
Scott Boley’s daughter, Erin, was a big-time college basketball player who played at Notre Dame and Oregon. However, he says there “is not a word in the English language” to explain how hard it is to watch a child competing at a major college level, especially when that child plays quarterback.
“It never dawned on me how hard it would be to be a quarterback’s parent. Everybody notices if the quarterback plays well or not,” Scott Boley said. “It’s so different when you know how bad they want it. When they are just doing it for fun, it’s not as big a deal.
“But I know how hard Cutter works and how much he wants this to work, and that makes me and my wife even more nervous when we watch him play. Quarterback is the one position where everybody can love you, and it takes about two plays for that to change.”
6 Responses
It's every kid's dream to come in off the bench and save the season for his favorite football team. Forget it Cutter, just do your job. Take what the defense gives you and move the ball down field consistantly. You do your job and all the good stuff will come to you.
Smart money might be on Cutter starting this Saturday, but Stoops has never been one to go with smart money. I would not be the least bit surprised to see Calzada start the game. I would also be even less surprised to see Cutter get only 1 quarter of play or less.
I base these statements on the fact that I am hearing that Calzada is good to go for Saturday. If Stoops thinks he can go the whole game, he probably will.
I think Stoops knows that Cutter is the future, but he sees Calzada as the only one that can "save" this season; and I don't agree with thinking either.
Just got back from another site and it looks like reports of Calzada being back at practice were incorrect (Hallelujah!!!). Cutter is supposed to start.
I know he will make mistakes, but those mistakes will only help in the future.
Sorry to disagree but apparently Stoops DOES know the “smart $” – Barney not so much 🤷♂️.
The only way Boley starts is if Calzada is hurt and can't play. It looks like Boley will start against Eastern Michigan. He catches a break by playing a directional school instead of Georgia or Tennessee. However, if the coaches and the rest of the team don't get their acts together, it won't matter. Vandy is licking their chops eyeing the Kentucky date on their schedule. Even Florida is smiling about coming to Lexington. Tennessee Tech may even be getting the notion that they can leave Kroger Field with a win. Lousyville is definitely looking forward to getting some payback. The good news is that there are only 33 days left until Midnight Madness is here! Go CATS!!!
It's Cutter time whether he's ready or not. I feel good about how far he has came along. He's much better than last year. I just hope he settles in and has a big game against Eastern Michigan to boost his confidence going forward. He's been in the offense now for going on 2 years. He has the upper hand. I think he ends up with between 200-300 yards against Eastern Michigan. I would keep him as the starter no matter what for the rest of the year because next year I think he will have a big year. He needs to play as much as he can even if Calzada is healthy. We can keep Calzada for the backup QB in case Cutter gets injured. Cutter will be the face of the program for the next 3-4 years. Better now than never to get his footing. I do believe he will be able to get the ball out a little faster than Calzada. He knows all the plays much better than Calzada and knows where everyone is supposed to line up. It's a great time to break him in as the starter we have eastern Michigan then a bye that gives him a couple of weeks taking the first team reps. So when we play South Carolina he should be ready to go.