Arizona State lands former Kentucky QB Cutter Boley in the transfer portal

(Photo: Courtesy of Sports Illustrated)

Arizona State football has found its new quarterback in Kentucky transfer Cutter Boley, per John Brice of FootballScoop.

Boley, a 6-foot-5, 220-pound rising redshirt sophomore, appeared in 11 of the Wildcats’ 12 games, starting 10 of them. Across those 11 appearances, he threw for 2,160 yards and 15 touchdowns on 65.8% completion, along with 85 yards on the ground and two rushing touchdowns, earning SEC All-Freshman honors when the season was all said and done.

As can be expected, there were some growing pains in Boley’s first season as a collegiate starter, especially in the turnover department, where he threw nearly as many interceptions (12) as touchdowns.

A standout performance this season came during Week 9 against then-ranked No. 17 Tennessee. Boley threw for a career-high 330 yards and a Kentucky freshman record five touchdowns, completing 74.3% of his throws along the way.

Boley was initially expected to stay at Kentucky, but entered the transfer portal after his head coach, Mark Stoops, was fired following his second consecutive losing season.

In joining the Sun Devils, Boley teams up with ASU head coach Kenny Dillingham, who’s had his eyes on Boley since at least 2022, when he was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Oregon and offered the then-junior four-star prospect out of Lexington Christian Academy in Lexington, Kentucky, a scholarship.

The two, of course, never linked up in Eugene, with Dillingham accepting ASU’s head coaching position shortly after and Boley committing to Kentucky. Now, though, circumstances have brought them together.

It’ll be up to Dillingham and ASU’s offensive coordinator and QB coach Marcus Arroyo to help Boley limit mistakes and tap into his potential on a more consistent basis to become the best version of himself in maroon and gold.

Fortunately for Boley, his new mentors have track records of helping quarterbacks, such as Denver Broncos QB Bo Nix and Los Angeles Chargers QB Justin Herbert, respectively improve and reach the next level.

Unfortunately for Boley, he has the added pressure of having big shoes to fill in Tempe following the departure of rising redshirt junior QB Sam Leavitt, who helped lead ASU to its first Big 12 Championship in 2024 and an appearance in the college football playoffs.

Leavitt threw for 4,513 yards and 36 touchdowns on a 61.3 completion percentage, with 743 rushing yards and 10 rushing touchdowns in 20 starts across two seasons under Dillingham and Arroyo, before informing the Sun Devils of his intention to enter the transfer portal on Dec. 8, just one day after he reportedly no-showed the team’s end-of-year banquet.

Since officially entering the transfer portal, Leavitt has been tied to the now-open Kentucky QB job, and it’s plausible that the two will enter the 2026 season having swapped jobs.

Boley joins a QB room in Tempe that all of a sudden lacks experience following the departures of Leavitt and his backup, Jeff Sims, who used up the last of his NCAA eligibility this past season.

Boley, in fact, is the only QB on ASU’s roster to have played a single snap at the collegiate level.

Rising redshirt QB Cam Dyer, who spent most of 2025 recovering from a torn ACL, and incoming true freshman four-star QB Jake Fette appear to be the most likely options to push Boley for the starting role, whether that be in 2026 or beyond.

After Leavitt announced his intent to enter the transfer portal, Dillingham said ASU would “100%” look to add a quarterback in the transfer portal

While there’s still plenty of work to be done before the Sun Devils welcome Morgan State into Mountain America Stadium on Sept. 5 to start the season, at least one box can be checked off the to-do list.