The injury status of Utah quarterback Cameron Rising remains one of the great weekly mysteries in college football. The 25-year-old signal-caller left the Utes' Week 2 win over Baylor and hasn't been seen on the field since. His availability remains unclear for Utah's showdown with Arizona State on Friday.
"We'll see what happens this week, but there is a chance," Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said. "I'll tell you that. It's still early in the week, but we're crossing our fingers and hoping for the best as is Cam. We'll see how things play out, but again, we follow all the medical recommendations. I'm not a doctor. Cam's not a doctor. We're not going to go against that."
Rising's uncertain health has been a lingering topic in Salt Lake City for the last 19 months dating back to a devitating knee injury in the 2023 Rose Bowl. He tore three of the four ligaments in the knee, requiring a lengthy rehab process.
Then, just when his knee had finally healed up, he was the victim of another freak incident against Baylor. Rising was tackled into the drink station on the Bears' sideline injuring his hand and putting him back on the shelf ever since.
With Rising out, No. 16 Utah has turned to freshman Isaac Wilson, who has started the last three games. The younger brother of 2021 No. 2 overall NFL Draft pick Zach Wilson has been up and down (as expected) during his first college action. He has completed only 55.7% of his attempts for 830 yards with six touchdowns and seven interceptions.
Rising has proven to be one of the top quarterbacks in the sport when healthy. He led Utah to back-to-back Pac-12 titles and Rose Bowl berths. He has nearly 6,000 career passing yards and over 50 touchdowns. But the question has become, how close can Rising realistically get to that elite level in the coming weeks? Or in the 2024 season altogether? And just how healthy does he have to be to make a difference and help the team?
"Does an 80 percent Cam Rising give us more of an opportunity to win than Isaac Wilson? That's a coach's decision and a coach's call," Whittingham said. "You're not going to be right all the time, but that is the exact criteria we use. First of all, you don't want to expose the kid to furthering the injury, but he wouldn't get cleared if that was the case. Whoever on that particular week that gives us the best chance to win given the physical circumstances- that will be the guy."
While Whittingham is weighing percentages and talking with doctors, the Utes are quickly progressing through their 2024 season. Last week's bye appears to have done little to clear up Rising's status, and the Utah coach understands there may come a point where he's forced to just play the hand that he's been dealt.
"There is a point," Whittingham said on Monday when asked if they would start Wilson the remainder of the season. "I'm not going to pin ourselves down to an exact, specific time. As things progress and also the conference race -- where are we in the conference race -- there are other things that go into it, but it certainly could come to that point, but we're not there yet."
Utah faces Arizona State this week and faces TCU and Houston to close out the month of October. The Utes should have a chacne to win all three of those games and go into their Nov. 2 bye at 4-1 in Big 12 play ahead of a monumental game against rival and conference frontrunner BYU on Nov. 9.
Utes fans would obviously love to get some good news about their star quarterback. before then. But at this point, they'd probably settle for some clarity.
