For the third straight year, Kentucky is naming a transfer as its starting quarterback to begin the 2025 college football season. Ahead of their Week 1 matchup against Toledo, the Wildcats named Incarnate Word transfer Zach Calzada as their starting signal-caller.
Head coach Mark Stoops confirmed on Monday that Calzada will start in Week 1, ESPN's Pete Thamel reported. Calzada beat out redshirt freshman Cutter Boley, who started a couple of games in 2024, and Georgia Southern transfer Beau Allen.
Although Stoops did not announce the decision until Monday, the result was somewhat of a foregone conclusion. Calzada, who threw 3,744 passing yards, 35 touchdowns and nine interceptions in 2024 at Incarnate Word, was a massive haul for Kentucky in the college football transfer portal.
As one of the most experienced quarterbacks in college football, Calzada returns to the SEC after previous stops at Texas A&M and Auburn. The Buford, Georgia, native began his career with the Aggies, where he started a handful of games and led the team to a massive upset of then-No. 1-ranked Alabama.
In his lone year with the team, Calzada is expected to provide stability for Kentucky at quarterback. The Wildcats brought in Georgia transfer Brock Vandagriff in 2024 to replace Devin Leary, but the results were underwhelming. Vandagriff threw just 1,593 passing yards on the year with 10 touchdowns and eight interceptions. His inefficiency forced Stoops to desperately turn to Boley midway through the year.
Zach Calzada to lead Kentucky football in 2025
Calzada is one of four key transfers Kentucky hopes will turn its offense around in 2025. After reviving its program in the last five years, the Wildcats took a significant step back in 2024, but have a much more positive outlook with Calzada under center.
Joining Calzada in the starting lineup are Nebraska transfer Dante Dowdell, Alabama transfer Kendrick Law and Bowling Green transfer Alex Wollschlaeger. The additions of Calzada, Dowdell, and Law are expected to substantially improve Stoops' offense, which was stagnant with Vandagriff in 2024.
While Kentucky lost star receiver Dane Key in the college football transfer portal, it also added former Clemson wideout Troy Stellano and former Oklahoma receiver JJ Hester. Ja'Mori Maclin, who is the team's only returning starting receiver, is coming off a down year with Vandagriff, but posted a 1,000-yard season in 2023 at North Texas.
Kentucky faces an uphill battle in the competitive SEC, but figures to improve on its disappointing 4-8 record. Unfortunately, the Wildcats' five road games — South Carolina, Georgia, Auburn, Vanderbilt and Louisville — are all tough draws. They will likely need to pull off another upset or two to get back over .500.
