Decisiveness is the Key for Cutter Boley

Kentucky is pushing all of its chips in on Cutter Boley. The quarterback has flashed, but if you take a closer look at the game log, it’s an up-and-down roller coaster.

He performed well in the second half at Texas, completing 10 passes for 160 yards. It was good enough to earn a start against Louisville when he had more incompletions (9) than completions (6).

This season’s story is similar. He followed up a 240-yard, 2-touchdown performance against Eastern Michigan with two plays at South Carolina that resulted in defensive touchdowns. The following week, Boley completed a career-high 25 passes at Georgia.

It’s a small sample size, but through 4.5 games, the Kentucky quarterback has not continually taken steps forward. There is always one or two steps back after he seems to put it together. That trend must stop for Kentucky to have a successful second half of the 2025 season.

Kentucky offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan is trying to take some pressure off of Boley by giving the quarterback simple reads.

“It’s being as decisive as possible,” Hamdan said on Tuesday. “For us, from a coaching standpoint, not looking at it as 1, 2, to 3, with an alert here versus man, and if they do this, we’ll do that. Ultimately, getting him to the point where ‘Where’s the ball probably going to go? Why are we going to call this play?’ If it’s not there, climb the pocket, get vertical, and take off.”

Hamdan added, “That’s the biggest thing for him, from a simplification process of getting him to play fast, getting him to make quick decisions, and letting his natural ability take over.”

Hesitation can cripple young quarterbacks. There’s no time to wait against SEC foes, particularly of the caliber of the Texas defense. Boley must quickly get rid of the ball, or it could get the Cats stuck behind the chains.

“(Hamdan) preaches having a plan,” said Boley. “It’s kinda knowing my plan to perfection and not questioning myself, not patting the ball, and letting it rip. Trusting my eyes, trusting my feet, just go out there and let it rip.”

Confidence is Key for Boley

In order to make quick decisions, one must be confident that they’re making the right one. Boley played pretty well last year at Texas. Will that help out on Saturday?

“There’s confidence there, but I think there’s just confidence with him continuing to get better week in and week out,” said Hamdan.

Similar to his coach, Boley diminished that performance’s impact. “It was definitely a good learning experience coming into this year, all that type of stuff. I’ve definitely watched some clips from last year and taking it as an all-around learning experience.”

Boley learned hard lessons over the last two weeks on the road. Those are more vital than what happened 11 months ago in Austin. Hopefully, those lessons pay dividends Saturday night at Kroger Field.