LOUISVILE, Ky. (WDRB) — Kentucky will open the 2025 football season with a new quarterback — and a familiar name.
Veteran transfer Zach Calzada has been named the Wildcats’ Week 1 starter, according to a report by ESPN’s Pete Thamel. Calzada, who has made 32 career starts across stops at Texas A&M, Auburn, and Incarnate Word, won the job after a preseason competition with redshirt freshman Cutter Boley.
Calzada will make his Kentucky debut on Aug. 30 at 12:45 p.m., when the Wildcats host Toledo at Kroger Field to kick off the 2025 season.
A seventh-year graduate student, Calzada led UIW to the FCS playoffs last season while finishing second nationally in passing touchdowns (35) and fifth in passing yards (3,791). He’s perhaps best known for throwing three touchdowns and leading Texas A&M to an upset win over No. 1 Alabama in 2021.
While Calzada arrived in Lexington as the presumed favorite, Boley reportedly made a strong push during camp.
Even so, Calzada’s experience ultimately won out.
The Wildcats will aim to bounce back from a 4–8 season in 2024 and open 2025 with high hopes behind a seasoned signal-caller. They have opened as a 7.5-point favorite against Toledo.
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