Mark Stoops on Cutter Boley: "He's the future. ... He's a very, very talented young man."

There is no better feeling than entering the bye week on a high note — the ultimate high note. Kentucky pulled off a historic upset on the road to turn the season back around and can now relax with a break in the schedule, watching other SEC foes beat each other up while resting and healing up themselves.

Sure, there’s a part of the Wildcats that would like to keep the momentum rolling as they continue to figure themselves out. There’s another part, though, that appreciates a small reward for responding the way they did after laying an egg against South Carolina in Week 2.

Getting back on track was huge for team morale.

“We have to deal with it, we have to make the most of it. We’ve been on both sides of it, coming off a tough loss or coming off a big win. I think if you asked our team right now, heck, we’d like to go play a game tomorrow, but it is what it is,” Mark Stoops said during his call-in radio show Monday night. “They also need to heal up, that’s for sure. We put a lot out there these last three weeks in particular, they’ve really practiced hard. They’ve been very well prepared, mentally and physically strained to the max, but they obviously felt good today. They were in good spirits.”

Rest and relaxation is for the in-game workhorses. For the younger Wildcats, however, the bye week is a chance to develop and prepare for their time to shine down the road. It’s the closest thing to live game reps the next generation will experience until they actually see the field in a year or two.

And today, they got plenty of them.

“We had a very light practice today, I really worked some of the guys that are next up, some of the younger guys and some of the guys that need the reps,” Stoops said. “We got a lot of reps with some of the redshirt guys like Cutter Boley, he got 40-50 reps today. Guys like that. It really, really helped. And then some of the players that have gotten so many reps over the past five games, they got some healing. They had to do a lot of rehab and getting in the cold tub and hot tub, all that kind of stuff. So it was a good day.”

A fan called into the show later in the evening asking about Boley specifically and his future in blue and white. The former four-star out of Hodgenville came in with high praise and higher expectations as Stoops’ next prized in-state recruit. He’s a true freshman now, but the 6-5 quarterback is seen as the next face of the football program.

That’s why it’s so important to lay the foundation for his career now so he’s in a position to succeed when that day comes. Develop now for then.

“Absolutely I see a role for Cutter Boley — I think he’s the future. You know what I mean? He’s a very, very talented young man,” Stoops said. “We had a lengthy practice today with some guys that aren’t getting as many snaps and he took probably 40 or 50 reps today for that reason. Just for development, just to keep him alive. He’s definitely a very, very talented young man.”

Don’t discount the possibility of Boley seeing the field at some point this season, either. While the plan is to redshirt him, Stoops says the four-star freshman can still play in four games and keep his year of eligibility.

These bye week practice reps are nice, but live game reps in garbage time later in the season are even better. And you can never have enough quarterback depth in a physical conference like the SEC.

Either way, they’re getting ready for Boley’s bright future in Lexington.

“He’s just a true freshman. We are trying to redshirt him, so I think it’s important to protect him early here on these games, because you just don’t know sometimes. Somebody could get a high ankle sprain, things can happen, and you can still use them up to four games and preserve his redshirt.

“We’ve been calculated with not using them to this point, but he’s a very, very talented young man.”