Arizona State finally names starting QB. What took so long?

Cutter Boley, a junior, will be Arizona State's starting quarterback, according to reports from ESPN's Pete Thamel. The Sun Devils open the season Saturday, Sept. 5, against the Morgan State Bears at Mountain America Stadium.

Head coach Kenny Dillingham is expected to address the media after practice on Saturday, Aug. 29.

ASU has four quarterbacks, with the battle coming down to Boley and sixth-year senior Mikey Keene, a local out of Chandler High School. The move had been trending that way, with Boley getting the first-team reps recently in practice.

Boley, a 6-foot-5, 220-pounder, is a transfer from Kentucky. He began the 2025 season as the backup to Incarnate Word transfer Zach Calzada, but took over the starting job three weeks into the season and ended up completing 65.8% of his passes for 2,160 yards with 15 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. Boley was named the quarterback on the SEC’s All-Freshman team.

His best outing of the season came in a loss to Tennessee in which he went 26-for-35 for 330 yards and five touchdowns with one interception in a 56-34 loss.

Turnovers were an issue for Boley, who has thrown 17 touchdowns and 16 interceptions in his career. He also lost two fumbles this season. Three of his 2025 turnovers were returned for touchdowns.

He was a four-star prospect out of Lexington Christian Academy, per the Rivals Industry Ranking. He reclassified to the high school class of 2024 to graduate a year earlier than originally planned.

Boley then appeared in four games while redshirting in 2024 as a freshman at Kentucky, showing promise with impressive second-half performances against Texas and Murray State.

At Kentucky, he was a teammate of ASU tight end Khamari Anderson.

Boley being named the starter likely means Keene will be the backup. Last season, ASU benefited from having an experienced backup in Jeff Sims after starter Sam Leavitt got injured.

ASU's other two quarterbacks are true freshman Jake Fette and sophomore Cam Dyer.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona State finally names starting QB. What took so long?