Texas A&M’s Week 2 trip to Arizona State now comes with a little more clarity under center.
According to multiple reports, Arizona State has named Kentucky transfer Cutter Boley its starting quarterback for the season, setting up a September 12 matchup in College Station against the former Wildcat. Boley started several games for Kentucky last year as a sophomore before heading to Tempe after Sam Leavitt’s departure.
The numbers tell a mixed story. Boley finished tied for 12th among SEC quarterbacks with Beau Pribula in yards per attempt last season, ahead of only DJ Lagway and Jackson Arnold among qualifying passers. That’s not the kind of production that jumps off the page, though the context matters given the situation he was playing in.
He was more accurate than explosive, posting a 65.8 completion percentage last year, better than Reed’s roughly 62%. The bigger issue was what wasn’t there: much downfield passing. That could look different at Arizona State, especially after the Sun Devils added two premium receivers through the portal this offseason.
Clark Brooks of On3 offered a detailed look at Boley’s profile and made one thing clear: the quarterback isn’t especially comfortable pushing the ball deep. Brooks wrote:
“Cutter Boley's Impact Sample is a good cautionary tale judging a passer just off raw accuracy...
lowest overall ANY/A in the group despite the silver medal in Accuracy%
keep this in the back of your mind when Jake Fette makes that ASU QB battle interesante pic.twitter.com/awXAKnGaAv
- Clark Brooks (@clarkbrooks_On3) May 4, 2026”
That style could play right into Texas A&M’s hands. The Aggies believe they have more versatility on defense than they’ve had since Mike Elko arrived, and if Boley is forced into a short-passing game, A&M can crowd those throws and let its corners handle things on the outside.
It also highlights how big Sam Leavitt’s loss was for Arizona State. Leavitt, now at LSU, was the driving force behind Kenny Dillingham’s offense, the same player fans saw in the Sun Devils’ College Football Playoff matchup a few years ago.
Boley is trying to fill a very different role, and doing it against the resurgent Wrecking Crew in front of 100,000-plus fans is hardly the easiest introduction. Texas A&M should have the edge if things go as expected, though Dillingham’s reputation for offensive creativity means this won’t be a free pass.
Still, for Aggie fans following the quarterback battle in Tempe, this is about as favorable a development as they could have hoped for. Mike Elko has already made it clear the Sun Devils deserve respect, but right now a lot of the early signs are lining up well for Texas A&M.
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