Reclassifying Kentucky commit Cutter Boley in 2024 rankings

Four-star quarterback Cutter Boley announced his commitment to Kentucky on Thursday, picking the in-state Wildcats over finalists Florida State, Michigan, Penn State and Tennessee. Boley followed that commitment announcement with the news that he will reclassify as a a 2024 prospect.

As a result, the Hodgenville (Ky.) Lexington Christian Academy product must be moved into the 2024 rankings.

Boley now slots into the 2024 On300 at No. 70 overall and as the No. 6 quarterback prospect.

The re-ranking football prospects in older cycles is inherently difficult. It requires projecting the perceived trajectory of the prospect’s development. A jump in cycles and subsequent skipping of a high school season certainly muddies the waters in regards to the evaluation. Those factors and unknowns may bring about some variance among different ranges as prospects jump cycles. As a result, we strive to keep the ratings unchanged as the prospects change cycles. This creates consistency amid the moves.

Cutter Boley brings a strong-armed passer to Lexington

Cutter Boley provides an injection of arm talent into Kentucky’s quarterback room. He’s a big strong-armed passer who is the odds on favorite as the Wildcats’ quarterback of the future after transfer Devin Leary exhausts his eligibility.

At 6-foot-5 and over 200 pounds, Boley has a big, prototypical frame. He has very large hands that have measured around 10.25 inches. When evaluating the 2025 quarterbacks, we felt that the ball came out of Boley’s hand as well as any passer within that group. That assessment doesn’t change too much when projecting him into the 2024 cycle.

Boley has notable arm talent. He is capable of standing in the pocket and driving the ball downfield and out to the boundary with ease. We also see him show the ability to layer and locate his throws. Boley looks to be a good fit in Kentucky offensive coordinator Liam Cohen’s scheme. We see him connect on similar concepts the Wildcats run and the ability to make throws on the run and off of play action should translate well.

The new Kentucky commit completed 63.5% of his passes for 3,901 yards and 36 touchdowns against 15 interceptions while leading Lexington Christian to the state semifinals in 2022. With this fall serving has his de facto senior season, we’ll be looking for continued progression from his play on Friday nights – as is the case with all 2024 quarterbacks.

It’s also worth noting that recent history suggests reclassifying, particularly as a quarterback, can be a dicey proposition. There are not a ton of success stories and everything we know about development at the position suggests that in-game reps on Friday nights are critical to development prior to advancing to college football. At the minimum, forgoing a year of experience doesn’t do any favors from a developmental perspective. Every situation is different, but the spotty track record of reclassifications is something to consider.

Boley’s situation is not as extreme as some of the other notable reclassification jumps. He was initially a 2024 prospect before reclassifying to 2025 earlier in his high school career. Boley was older for the class as a 2025 prospect and is the same age as most 2024 quarterbacks. He has another season of high school football and could be in line to play early in his career at Kentucky. We should have a better picture of how Boley stacks up within the 2024 quarterback group as we progress through the evaluation process.