Mark Stoops Does Not Regret How Kentucky Handled the Quarterback Situation

Cutter Boley has been a revelation for Kentucky, but the quarterback’s stellar play may be too little, too late to salvage the 2025 season.

The redshirt freshman started the season as Zach Calzada‘s backup and first entered the action in the fourth quarter against Ole Miss. It took some time for Boley to find his footing, but since start No. 3, on the road at Georgia, he’s improved each and every week.

He completed a career-high 25 passes at Georgia, the start of three-straight games with 25+ completions, something that had not been done at Kentucky since 2006. He broke the freshman completion percentage record (79%) against Texas and set a new freshman passing touchdown record (5) against Tennessee.

It begs Kentucky fans to ask the question: Why didn’t they give Boley the green light sooner?

Cutter Boley in October

82/118 (69.5%)
813 passing yards (6.9 yards per attempt)
7 total TD (6 pass, 1 rush)
3 INT
48.7% passing success rate
15.6% explosive pass rate
884 yards on 137 dropbacks (6.45 yards per dropback) pic.twitter.com/TYntmuqg5C

— Adam Luckett (@AdamLuckettKSR) October 29, 2025

A Strong Camp Without a True Competition

There’s a reason why Kentucky recruited Zach Calzada out of the transfer portal. In Boley’s de facto tryout as the starter against Louisville, it was a disaster. Kentucky needed insurance at the position.

After spring practice, it appeared to be a wise decision, but things changed in fall camp. Cutter Boley was the most talked-about player during preseason practices.

“I think Cutter (Boley) is a guy who is a redshirt freshman who we all anticipate is the future of this program,” Mark Stoops said at the Louisville Kickoff Luncheon in August. “When that happens, I don’t know… I felt like Zach was having really good practices and kinda separating, then all of the sudden Cutter comes out last Saturday and has a remarkable scrimmage and looked as comfortable as he’s looked since he’s been here.

“We saw flashes of that in games and in practice with his arm, but putting it all together and really having that comfort level and command of the offense takes some time. He’s getting very comfortable and making big gains.”

The Kentucky head coach said Boley was “pushing the needle” in the “competition.” The problem was that it never really was a competition. Calzada got all of the reps with the ones. Despite all of the public praise, Boley never had a real chance of becoming QB1.

Mark Stoops No Regrets

Hindsight is always 20-20. During Wednesday’s SEC Coaches Teleconference, Stoops was asked if he had any regrets about how he handled the quarterback position.

“No, I don’t think that’s fair to say that, you know, to Zach and to others,” Stoops replied. “Listen, it’s never on one guy. You’ve heard me say that many times, and it’s true.

“I think we’ve grown. I think it’s fair when you struggle, that you all share in that, us, me as the head coach, play calling, protection, catching the ball, you name it. There’s a lot that goes into it. I’m very happy that Cutter is progressing the way he is. And I think what’s really impressive about Cutter is that each game, each start, he seems to be getting better and better. And you love that, but you have no way of knowing what’s going to happen in the future.”

It’s hard to predict the future, but evaluating talent is a coach’s primary responsibility. They clearly saw that Boley had plenty of talent before the season started, and yet they did not act on it. If they did, Kentucky might not be winless in the SEC.