"He will be the face of our program." Kentucky commit Cutter Boley wins Paul Hornung Award

On Wednesday, Cutter Boley signed his National Letter of Intent, officially becoming a member of the Kentucky football program. A day later on Thursday, he was recognized with one of the state’s most prestigious honors, the Paul Hornung Award, which is handed out to the best high school player from the Bluegrass for that season.

It’s been a busy 24 hours for the future Kentucky quarterback, but he’s just getting started. Boley will arrive on campus in January as an early enrollee. The plan is to compete for the starting job from day one, but the expectation is he’ll develop behind incoming transfer quarterback, Brock Vandagriff (Georgia), before taking the reins of the program in the years after.

“Cutter played a big part in helping recruit a lot of the guys we got. And that’s when you know you have leadership at quarterback,” Kentucky associate head coach Vince Marrow said during Boley’s award ceremony at the Wildwood Country Club in Louisville. “His personality, he can go in any room, he can relate to any nationality, who you are, I think that’s the upbringing he got from his parents. He’s really going to be, I think the face of this– I don’t think, he will be the face of our program. This kid’s upside is very huge. He’s very humble and everything about this young man, everything you read is true.”

Kentucky QB commit Cutter Boley was honored with the Paul Hornung Award today as the state’s top high school player.

Vince Marrow made an appearance too. pic.twitter.com/sYy0LeFcY3

— Zack Geoghegan (@ZGeogheganKSR) December 21, 2023

Boley was key in leading Lexington Christian Academy to an 11-2 record in 2023, including a semifinal appearance in the Class 2A state tournament. The 6-foot-5 Boley, who is ranked as a four-star prospect and the No. 307 recruit from the 2024 class, threw for 2,187 yards and 24 touchdowns in his senior season with a completion percentage of 64.2.

“This boy was raised right,” LCA head coach Doug Charles said. “He was raised right. He’s always been that way. He’s always been the guy that carries his own bag, he’s always been the guy that rides the bus home after games, he’s always been the guy that, even after a tough loss on a big stage, is willing to stop and take a picture with a kid or sign an autograph. And those are the things that build character — what you do in your worst times.”

Every program in the country was at least taking a serious look at Boley before (and even after) he committed to Kentucky. Alabama offered in June 2022. The likes of ‘Bama, Michigan, Penn State, Tennessee, and many more made up his list of finalists. Had Liam Coen not returned as UK’s offensive coordinator, there’s a very good chance he ends up elsewhere.

But you can’t fully take the Bluegrass out of a Bluegrass kid.

“His recruitment was very simple,” Marrow added. “Don’t misunderstand what I’m saying though. This kid was wanted by a lot of people in the country. But I think with him being a Kentucky kid, whether it’s Kentucky or Louisville, I think he wanted to stay in this state.”

The Big Blue Nation sure is lucky to have him.