Cutter Boley on Kentucky commitment: "This is home to me."

Lexington Christian quarterback Cutter Boley is a blue-chip national recruit, one every major football program in America wanted at one point or another. Ranked No. 70 overall in the class of 2024 — he announced he would be reclassifying and enrolling in January on Thursday — he’s a top-10 player in the country at his position and the No. 1 prospect in Kentucky.

That last part went a long way in his recruitment, the Hodgenville native wanting to represent home and the people who helped him become the player he is now and hopes to be at the next level. It’s how Mark Stoops and the Kentucky Wildcats ultimately landed his commitment, bringing the state’s highest-rated quarterback since Tim Couch to Lexington.

“This is home to me,” Boley told KSR shortly after his commitment at LCA on Thursday. “I grew up in the state of Kentucky, my whole family’s here. I just want to be able to play for the people who supported me growing up and made me who I am today.”

But it wasn’t always that simple, specifically in the last year. Tennessee came in hot, as did Penn State, Michigan and Florida State, among a long list of others. Kentucky’s offense was sputtering under former offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello — who egregiously failed to push all of his chips in on Boley during his time in Lexington — while other high-octane programs known for lighting up scoreboards made him feel wanted.

And then Liam Coen happened, returning to Kentucky in January after a one-year stint as the offensive coordinator of the Los Angeles Rams. That, Boley says, changed everything.

“I trust Coach (Liam) Coen and his offense, what he did with Will (Levis) two years ago and what he did with the Rams. You know, I really feel like he can develop me,” he told KSR. “I didn’t know what they were going to do after that season in terms of their OC, who they were going to have. I wasn’t going to count them out, but I wanted to see who they brought in. Then when they brought Coen back, I was like, ‘This is right.'”

It’s simple, really. Boley sees himself as a future pro, and Coen is a pro-style coordinator, one capable of keeping the transition from high school to college to the NFL as seamless as possible. He describes the offense as one made for him, a 6-foot-5, 200-pound flamethrower’s dream.

“I feel like he runs the pro-style offense the right way at the college level,” Boley said. “It’s not all pro stuff, he adds some college twists in there to make it more like the college game and really effective at the college level. It’s really effective and I feel like it’s the offense made for me as a player, the pro-style quarterback that I am.

“And I can get out and move a little bit, kind of like Will did. I’m definitely excited and I feel like I fit in that offense really well.”

The stars aligned perfectly for a storybook ending. He gets to stay home and play at Kroger Field in front of his closest friends and family. And in doing so, he has the opportunity to get coached up by one of the most brilliant young minds in football. It’s a win-win.

“It was designed for me all along to play here. I feel like it’s the perfect fit, you know?” he told KSR. “I’m right here at home, playing for one of the best OCs in the nation who is going to develop me to be the best player I can be.”

Reclassifying to 2024, Boley will play one final season of high school football before enrolling at Kentucky in January. From there, it’s go time.

He’s arriving early specifically to compete for the starting job from day one. It’s not something he’s going to have handed to him, but he’s confident he’ll earn it as a true freshman. And then the rest of his legacy as a Wildcat is on him.

“I definitely plan on coming in my true freshman year and competing for that starting spot immediately,” Boley told KSR. “I’m coming to compete my freshman year, but after that, it’s on me. It’s on me to play. I have to go in there and just do my thing.”

Thursday was step one of that process, announcing his pledge to the University of Kentucky. And we have location and Liam Coen to thank for that.