Mark Stoops impressed by Cutter Boley but doesn't commit to starting quarterback

Cutter Boley looked very good tonight, but Mark Stoops isn’t quite ready to anoint him Kentucky’s starting quarterback. The redshirt freshman was 12-21 for 240 yards and two touchdowns in the 48-23 win over Eastern Michigan; however, perhaps as a courtesy to Zach Calzada, who suffered a shoulder injury vs. Ole Miss, or some good old-fashioned gamesmanship ahead of the South Carolina game, Stoops was non-committal about who has the reins of Kentucky’s offense moving forward.

“I was pleased with the way he operated,” Stoops said of Boley afterward. “I really was. I don’t think it would be right for me to make that decision right here and now. I was pleased with the way he played. We’ll get some time, look at it, and get back on the practice field.”

On his postgame radio show with Tom Leach, Stoops said he wants to review the film and talk to his players before making a final decision. That said, he didn’t hide his praise for Boley, who finally got Kentucky’s offense flowing — albeit against one of the worst defenses in the FBS. Beau Allen served as Boley’s backup, coming in on the final drive, but Calzada was available in case of emergency, according to the ESPNU broadcast. To his credit, Calzada was right by Boley’s side on the sidelines to help out.

Zach Calzada has been working the sideline and is sitting right next to Cutter Boley looking at film. In his ear constantly.

I don’t care if he is injured, got benched, or anything else…this shows real TOUGHNESS!!!

Dude is being a great teammate in what can’t be a fun place. pic.twitter.com/22eDfHUW3h

— Brandon Ramsey (@BRamseyKSR) September 14, 2025

“I don’t think that’s right for me to make that decision right now,” Stoops told Leach. “I have to watch the film. I have to see where Zach’s at, and talk to my players, and you know what I mean, and get on the same page. So, I think that would be reckless to make that decision right now.

“I was pleased with the way Cutter played, and that doesn’t surprise me. I felt like he would play well. We had a good plan in this game. It was very comfortable. We were very balanced. We were able to run the ball and throw the ball, and I thought Cutter did a very good job, and we’ll see where it goes.”

Even in just his second start and sixth game overall, Boley looked comfortable in the pocket, routinely finding his receivers and avoiding pressure. The redshirt freshman finished the game with a quarterback rating of 184.6. Stoops expects Boley to continue to improve moving forward, whether it be as the immediate or long-term quarterback of the future.

“I thought he was really good with his operation and his presence,” Stoops said. “As I mentioned with some of the defense players and Cutter, game reps, there’s no replacing that, and he’ll get better with each opportunity and each snap. I thought his awareness was very good. There were some plays where there were some other things out there. We mentioned the first two games that he’ll look at, and he’ll know that he can play better and get more comfortable, but overall, very pleased.”

“Just watching it, without watching the film and everything, I felt like his awareness seemed pretty good. I think when he buys time and scrambles and has a lot of time, it’ll be different against different opponents, so that’s something we’ve got to look out for, but overall, he looked pretty comfortable back there.”

Yes, Eastern Michigan pales in comparison to the gauntlet of foes Kentucky is about to face, but it was good to see Kentucky’s offense take flight. The Cats finished with eight explosive (15+ yards) passing plays, just two shy of the first two games combined. Seven Kentucky receivers caught 12 passes, five of those going to the tight ends. Kentucky was 7-7 in the red zone and was almost perfectly balanced with 252 rushing yards to 240 passing. Stoops said that the latter figure could have been even higher without some mistakes by Boley and his receivers.

“I thought guys made competitive catches today, and we even left a few more out there. There were a few plays out there, but it was a good starting point, with Cutter starting his first game of the season, and it definitely can loosen it up. I think I looked at the stats at halftime, and I just looked at the quickie stats, and we were dead even with runs and passes, and if you can get that kind of balance, you can have that kind of efficiency we’re looking for.”

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