Kentucky football already has the kind of quarterback other programs would gladly build around. For now.
Cutter Boley is on the roster, working with a head coach in Will Stein and an offensive coordinator in Joe Sloan who both carry real quarterback-development receipts. Stein just helped Bo Nix finish third in the Heisman voting at Oregon. Sloan coached Jayden Daniels through one of the best seasons we’ve ever seen from an SEC quarterback.
On paper, that’s exactly the type of room a blue-chip passer should want to stay in.
But this is the portal era, and Boley has been honest: he’s going to evaluate his options. If he decides to leave, Kentucky can’t be caught flat-footed. And that’s where the conversation has already started to drift in the wrong direction.
Kentucky football doesn’t need DJ Lagway, Brendan Sorsby, or Dylan Raiola it needs Fitzmagic 2.0
The second a quarterback spot even might open at a place like Kentucky, the same names get thrown around: former five-stars, big-brand backups, highly ranked kids who didn’t win jobs at Georgia, Ohio State, Texas, you name it. You’re already hearing buzz about guys like DJ Lagway, Brendan Sorsby, Dylan Raiola and other big résumés floating around the portal bubble.
That’s the old way of thinking. Helmets and stars instead of fit and function.
In Will Stein’s system, the most important trait isn’t arm strength or recruiting ranking it’s completion percentage and consistency. His offense is built to live in the short and intermediate game, stay on schedule, and let weapons do work in space. You don’t have to throw it 70 yards; you have to hit the easy stuff 70% of the time.
That’s why the right answer for Kentucky, if Boley walks, probably isn’t a former five-star who wants to freelance. It’s a proven rhythm thrower who can be a one-year grown-up in the room while the future develops behind him.
It’s someone like Harvard’s Jaden Craig. And remember a certain bearded NFL journeyman who helped spot start all around the league, Ryan Fitzpatrick, he is a Harvard man.
PFSN Analyst James Fragoza says to “expect heavy power conference interest in the FCS star... Craig has gone from top FCS QB to one of the top transfers”
The case for Jaden Craig
Craig doesn’t come from the SEC, and he doesn’t come with a five-star label. What he does bring is exactly the skill set Stein’s offense asks for.
Look at the profile:
- In 2025, Craig completed 208 of 338 passes (61.5%) for 2,869 yards, 25 touchdowns and just 7 interceptions, averaging 8.5 yards per attempt.
- In 2024, he hit 60.6% (169 of 279) for 2,430 yards, 23 touchdowns and only 3 picks, with 8.7 yards per attempt.
That’s two straight seasons of efficient, vertical-enough football, without the turnover spike you usually see when guys push the ball. Craig wins by carving up defenses in that short-to-mid range, exactly where Stein’s system wants to live when it’s humming.
He’s not a game-breaking runner, but he’s functional in the red zone and the QB run game: 150 career carries for 194 yards and 11 rushing touchdowns. Enough to keep backside defenders honest, enough to survive when a play breaks down.
Most importantly, Craig plays like a point guard. He gets the ball out. He keeps you ahead of the chains. In Lexington, with SEC athletes around him and a scheme designed to stress space and leverage, that’s a pretty enticing combination.
Why a one-year rental actually makes sense
Nobody at Kentucky should be searching for a three- or four-year answer in the portal right now. That’s what you hope Cutter Boley becomes if he stays, or what Matt Ponatoski could turn into down the road after signing with the Wildcats earlier this month.
What Stein really needs, if Boley leaves, is a clean one-year bridge:
A guy who can protect the football, keep the offense on schedule, and run the system while the room stabilizes. Craig checks that box. You bring him in with a clear understanding: come compete, run an NFL-friendly system for a year, put up efficient numbers in the SEC, and launch yourself into the draft conversation.
Meanwhile, Ponatoski gets time to develop. Kentucky keeps its future options open. You’re not handcuffing the depth chart with a multi-year promise to a short-term fix.
All of this becomes moot if Boley stays
Of course, this entire conversation gets erased if Boley decides to stay and grow under Stein and Sloan. That should still be option No. 1 for everyone involved. A high-ceiling home-state quarterback learning from two proven QB developers is the ideal scenario.
But hoping isn’t planning.
In the portal era, you have to live in two realities at once: recruit your own roster to stay, and quietly build a board for what happens if they don’t. If Kentucky locks in on only the loudest names and ignores guys like Jaden Craig, it’s missing the lesson Ole Miss and others have already taught the sport, your next star doesn’t have to come from a blue blood.
Trinidad Chambliss just game from Ferris State to throwing for 3,000 yards for Ole Miss, so it can definitely be done.
Sometimes, the smartest move is to look down a level, find the guy who already does the boring stuff well, and let your system and your weapons do the rest.
If Boley runs it back in Lexington, perfect. If he doesn’t, Kentucky needs to resist the urge to chase the shiniest logo in the portal and instead go get a pure distributor.
A guy like Craig isn’t the splashiest answer. But in Will Stein’s offense, he might be the right one.