Cutter Boley transferred to Kenny Dillingham’s Arizona State for the 2026 season after a breakout but turbulent redshirt freshman season at Kentucky. The quarterback is coming in with a lot of hype after playing in the SEC.
Cutter Boley Faces Pressure After Kenny Dillingham’s Strong Message
Boley discussed his transfer to ASU on the “SunDevilSource” podcast, where he credited Dillingham for his commitment.
“Coach Dillingham, I had a relationship with him in high school, both when he was at Oregon and ASU, when he first got to ASU,” Boley said (4:00). “It was really coach Dillingham and how he deals with quarterbacks. Coach (Marcus) Arroyo as well was a huge part of it and just how they develop quarterbacks and their knowledge of the game and how they can develop me and put me into the best situation to get me to the next level.
“Just like the team mottos, like I said, like we have more fun working harder than anyone else in the country. And since I’ve been here, that has been 100% true in everything we do. And, you know, the guys love being around each other. The guys love being around Coach Dillingham.”
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In two seasons at Kentucky, Boley played in 15 games with 11 starts, completing 224 of 354 passes for 2,489 yards, 17 touchdowns, and 16 interceptions, while totaling 76 carries for 42 yards and 2 scores. He finished the 2025 season with a 76.1 score in the PFSN College Football QB Impact Score, ranking No. 102 in the nation.
Boley will enter the 2026 season as the presumed starter for ASU, following the departure of Sam Leavitt to LSU. Dillingham seems excited about Boley’s potential and caliber, but the Arizona State head coach made it clear that the job isn’t locked up.
Dillingham is focused on prioritizing the QB who gives the program the best chance at winning right now over long-term upside.
“We’re always going to play the players that give us the best chance to win right now,” Dillingham said on Wednesday. “I’m really not a guy who believes in, ‘Hey, even in year one when we s**ked, I didn’t make one decision like this is going to help us next year.’ That was not, I mean, we had, we were horrible and I still did every decision to try to win, because that’s what you do.
“You want to win. You want to create a team that doesn’t accept losing. So we’re going to make every decision to try to win football games this year, and the guy that gives us the best chance to win football games this year, this game, this moment from now at all positions… I just couldn’t sleep at night knowing that, okay, there’s a senior over here, and I’m planning for next year.”
Arizona State’s quarterback room also includes veteran Mikey Keene, along with Jake Fette and Cameron Dyer, both of whom could emerge as unexpected contributors.
