Cutter Boley feels he is getting better in every aspect. (Vicky Graff Photo)
Not only is redshirt freshman quarterback Cutter Boley making the right plays on the field, but he’s saying all the right things off the field.
Boley threw for 168 yards and two touchdowns on 18-of-23 passing (78 percent) in Saturday’s rout of Florida as he got his second Southeastern Conference win and UK’s first home conference win in three seasons.
“It was huge, especially after coming up just slightly short in a few home games this year,” said Boley. “That was a good one to pull out, especially for BBN, for us, for the coaches, just everybody in general. That was a good one to go out there and dominate.”
Kentucky’s offense has not been overly productive most of the season but had three touchdowns in the second quarter against Florida to take a 24-7 lead.
“To be honest, this whole week, this whole day, we’ve come with juice, and everybody was excited and everybody was ready to play,” Boley said. “We felt that we had won this game, but we were so confident, and we had a heartbeat tonight. And it was just really good to see these guys play hard.”
Boley admits he is “growing up” as a quarterback in every aspect of his play.
“Growing in every aspect of my game, growing in leadership, growing in everything. I think these guys have really come around, and they have supported me through everything, and really kept feeding into me, and I give them all the praise,” Boley said.
Coach Mark Stoops loves the confidence Boley has gained since becoming UK’s starting quarterback.
“I hope we do a good job of giving him confidence in his protection. To see how he has grown this season, it makes me excited for these next three games, and me personally, for his whole career,” Stoops said. “Cutter has become a good friend of mine, and I look forward to seeing what he is able to accomplish throughout his time here in Kentucky.”
Note the “GOOD FRIEND OF MINE” comment by Stoops because that’s important and explains why Boley said he did not like the negativity by some UK fans towards Stoops.
“We hate it. We’re kind of taking it on our shoulders and putting it on ourselves,” Boley said. “All the guys in here love him. All the guys want to fight for him, want to win for him, everything like that. We have a really good thing going in the locker room. You can see our heartbeat that we had tonight.
“Everybody loves coach Stoops, what he does, and what he stands for, and how he addresses the team in every situation, loss, win, no matter what it is. He’s always the same guy. Loss, win, whatever it is. He’s always the same guy in the locker room. He’s always the same guy talking to us on Mondays, no matter the outcome. And I think every guy respects that and really wants to play for him.”
20 Responses
Of course he's going to say that. He can't say that Stoops and his staff have been a miserable failure for the past 2 years. He can't say Stoops should have made him QB 1 at the beginning of last year. Stoops has cost Cutter a lot of money while giving Calzada 1.25 million and he didn't complete a touchdown pass.
I know a guy that hasn't missed a home football game in 32 years. He wants Stoops gone. We've won 2 pillow fights and the 3rd pillow fight is coming up. WOO HOO
If he ain't missed a game in 32 yrs. He SHOULD appreciate the body of work under Stoops!
If we lose said "pillow fight(s)", coach sucks!?! If we win said "pillow fight(s)", COACH SUCKS!!?!!
Yall are as bad as supporting our program as some Admin!
We don't lose pillow fights. We're the best pillow fighters in the conference.
34-62 in the SEC
I've got your body of work.
70-78 record. 10 wins were vacated so the recognized record is 67-73.
0 SEC regular season championships
0 SEC championship game appearances.
$9,000,000 @ year.
WildWest, the truth hurts (some folks), but it’s still the truth. How many starting QBs in college would say anything else about their HC & coaches? None! So, Cutter is safely responding to media inquiries. He’s the QB and a good QB is one of the most intelligent players on most teams. Cutter can’t recover those wasted games, so he is making the best of his delayed opportunity.
Thanks for keeping it real, WildWwst!
Thank you Cutter Boley. It's obvious he thinks Stoops and the coaches can coach. Great locker room environment. He said the team loved Stoops. Really that's all that matters. I would think all starting QB's would be good friends with their head coach.
Kentucky Football on three. Ready. Break!
1. Super easy for Pres. Capilouto and AD Barnhart after two dubs to simply run it back with Coach Stoops in ‘26 given the huge buyout, but will “continuity” be the theme for the staff and the program? The answer should be a resounding NO!
2. IF it’s me, renegotiated contract for Coach Stoops, some staff shakeup (Brad White may leave anyway) to help the offense and with personnel decisions (a GM). Once again, easy to say “continuity” with Hamdan and Boley, but the offense needs a change.
3. If Stoops wants to be the coach at Kentucky in ‘26, it is only under these conditions. Otherwise, attempt to negotiate on the buyout and part ways. Not personal, given the reportedly amicable Barnhart-Stoops relationship, it’s the business of college football in 2025. After all, it’s no secret, Jon Sumrall IS the short list for Kentucky football. The institution can’t miss on Sumrall AND, AND simply maintain status quo with Stoops going into 2026.
TOUCHDOWN, KENTUCKY!
Ditto on all counts, KD. Excellent points!
I really do believe we are at the start of a very special run. You can't fire the guy who put the program together and has actually gave us hope about Kentucky football. I think we should bring the Rich Brooks slogan back… BELIEVE! That's what these young players need to do. They need to buy in and trust the process. If they are getting better give it another year and see what happens. If they did let Stoops go I think you can kiss Cutter Boley bye. I think if they let Stoops go he will listen to what other coaches are saying. Every coach in the league will be calling Boley. The way he has improved every coach knows he will have a big year next year and even bigger his junior and senior seasons. Coach Stoops did a great job by not rotating the QBs. Thats what i wanted after the South Carolina game when Boley had 4 turnovers in the second quarter. He kept playing him and playing him and as you can see he is getting better and better. The last game of the year last year vs Louisville Boley looked terrible. He looks much better now with a year of experience under his belt. No with game experience you either sink or swim and Boley is swimming fast for a freshman. Next year our offense should be elite. Our defense has some young studs that are going to be great players as soon as next season. It would be foolish to let Stoops go and hit the reset button when you finally have some momentum going now. Even if we lose another game. Vegas said we would win 4.9 games this year. We did exactly what the experts thought as of right now. When we win Saturday thats 5 wins. We will get to 6. With a bowl game and extra practices it will help our younger players grow even more this off-season. The next couple of years should be very special. If Stoops doesn't win at least 8 games next year then you let him go. Not now where on a roll. Go Cats BBN
Going into Auburn, my attitude was Stoops must go, and after Auburn, I saw some improvement, but single games mean nothing.
After Florida, my attitude is Stoops will probably be here next year, but after Florida, I see significant improvement, and a team that is playing better football, and improving, almost with each possession.
I now see 6 wins as very possible, but it will take one more road win.
I see Vandy's Carriage has popped into a pumpkin, and they are vulnerable right now.
I see UL as not as strong as UK this season, but the home field advantage must be overcome, and can be.
My concerns about Stoops' remain. I understand that Stoops tooks a program with nothing from Joker and built it to a SEC competitive level. Then, something went wrong the last 3 to 4 seasons. I have no idea what caused the reversal of fortunes, but …
IF STOOPS CAN GET BACK TO HIS PROGRAM BUILDING TO A SEC COMPETITIVE LEVEL, I AM GOOD WITH HIM TOO.
For me, that requires 6 wins this season with a bowl trip.
I think the NIL situation set the program back. Barnhart was a setting duck not taking advantage of the NIL money when it was available while everybody else was on the bandwagon
Professor, I am very cautiously a little optimistic after reading your observations and hopeful expectations, but it takes a lot more for me to even get near a bandwagon which has wavered and flopped the past 2 seasons.
Barmie will keep Stoops after these 2 pillow-fight wins, so the best possibility is if UK can win the next 4 games (a run of 5 wins + a low bowl win) to finish 8-5. Then, there should be some hope of a much better future, but is essential that the inept OC is sent packing and that Stoops get some serious help picking the next OC. The next OC absolutely should be guaranteed, in writing, that he will have the reigns and controls and final say for every offensive decision. Then UK will have a chance to grind it’s way back into the middle of the SEC, where it peaked with 10 wins.
If the the Cats go to a bowl it will be 9 out of the last 10 years. To me that's pretty good. You can't expect Kentucky to compete for Championships every year. If you do you will be miserable the rest of your life.
Jimmy, what part of being competitive in the SEC says I expect this program to compete for championships any year soon, much less every year.
However, as I write this, UK still has the lowest net efficiency in the SEC. That is a far cry from competitiveness.
In the age of NIL, these are no longer collegiate atheletes, they are professional athletes, being paid to win.
It is time for UK to get on with it, or just get out of the SEC because it really does not want, or plan to be competitive.
A BIG DITTO, Professor!!!
I find it so much safer to post a “REPLY” to others than to risk unwarranted personal attacks. They are just too childish.
So, I really appreciate the solid, statistically supported, reasoning and conclusions you draw. The other frequent posters on VV also have some valid and accurate comments which are factual and not just rambling.
VV is my favorite, site, with your input ever so influential. Your steadfast support of Stoops long after I threw in the towel is encouraging & your looking for a window for Stoops to climb thru to recover UK FB is as supportive as can be!
Getting a bowl bid and winning it for a 7 win season earns Stoops an apology from me. I thought they were dead after the Georgia game but they appear to have turned things around. Boley is playing better every game. Stoops even brought Allen in for the last 5 minutes of the game…I almost passed out! Saturday's game is a must win as it potentially makes or breaks this season's outcome. I hope we win big so Vandy and Louisville will have something to think about. We have 3, possibly 4 games left. Win 3, and this team has overachieved. Win all 4 and Stoops just might get that statute built.
Participation statue.
I admire your optimism and openness to back Stoops if Uak rallies down the stretch, Barry!
I want to win out + win the bowl game, and then I will be as much for Stoops as the first day he was hired!
The MAJOR difference right now (even tho these were not big time competitors) is the LEADERSHIP by Cutter Boley. He is a difference maker and he obviously stirred up the entire team to begin to fight for a win.
8-5 is the goal that needs to be met, and many things will improve. A new OC is essential if UK has any hope if UK has any hope of retuning to the middle of the SEC.
I am hanging in there with Coach Stoops. This football team is awake now, and the victories are good to see against Auburn and the arrogant Gators. Three wins in a row and one game away from bowl eligibility is impressive after a sluggish start. Also remember, UK should have beaten Texas and gave Ole Miss all they could handle. I agree that Boley should have been the starting UK QB long before he was. ????? The buyout is huge, and Sumrall isn't coming to Lexington anytime soon with job openings and big pay checks now available at real football schools. Also, be careful BBN what you wish for. This is Stoops' program, and he has earned my respect at this point down the stretch in 2025. That 6th win will not be easy on the road against Vandy and Louisville, but it's possible, and one more win would salvage the season. Win out, and I say keep our coach and staff in place and go sign some 4 and 5 star football players and save the school some big time cash in a huge buyout situation. Go Cats!!!!
Comments are closed.