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Mark Stoops explains decision to start Brock Vandagriff at QB over Cutter Boley vs. Texas

Grant Grubbs Profile Pictureby: Grant Grubbs11/19/24grant_grubbs_
Mark Stoops
USA Today Sports

Kentucky backup quarterback Cutter Boley led the Wildcats’ offense in the second half of their 48-6 win over Murray State this past weekend. On Monday, Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops revealed whether Boley will be the team’s starting QB moving forward.

“It is what it is right now. Brock’s our starting quarterback and he’s earned it and worked his tail off,” Stoops said. “Cutter’s a very talented young player that we’re excited about. The reason I say that — it’s like that in every position but everyone wants to over-exaggerate the quarterback position.”

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Brock Vandagriff has been Kentucky’s consistent QB1 this season. In the 2024 campaign, he has completed 57.8% of his passes for 1,542 yards and nine touchdowns while throwing seven interceptions.

During the first half on Saturday, Vandagriff had a chance to rebuild some of his confidence following four straight losses. The former five-star prospect completed 12-of-his-19 passes against Murray State for 183 yards and two touchdowns compared to one interception.

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For reference, while leading Kentucky’s offense in the second half, Boley completed 10-of-14 passes for 130 yards and two touchdowns without throwing an interception.

Stoops didn’t deny that Boley had an impressive showing against Murray State, but he pointed out that the competition level is different than what Vandagriff faces on a weekly basis.

“[Boley] looked really good. I thought he made really good decisions. I thought he looked comfortable,” Stoops said. “He has a lot of talent and those are things we saw in practice and in games, it’s good to see him get some game reps.

“I think we all know it’s a little different with playing a team we just played at home or playing one of the other SEC schools on the road. You’ve heard every SEC coach talk about the challenges of the road in the SEC, I think everybody’s talked about it.”

For now, Cutter Boley can only continue to attempt to impress Stoops when given the chance. On the other hand, Vandagriff will aim to keep reminding Stoops why he named him QB1 in the first place.

On Saturday, Kentucky will square off against Texas at 3:30 p.m. ET. The game will air live on ABC.