Utah quarterback Cameron Rising revealed new details about the the knee injury he suffered in last year's Rose Bowl, shedding more light on why it continues to keep him out of action. While it was common knowledge Rising underwent surgery to repair a torn ACL, he also tore his meniscus, MPFL and MCL, he said in an interview on Thursday.
"I wasn't really expecting to do this, but I think it's important that I just let everybody know that I didn't just tear my ACL," Rising said during an appearance on The Bill Riley Show. "I tore my ACL, meniscus, MPFL and MCL. There was a big surgery, and it's not an easy comeback. I've been working my tail off."
The Utes are off to a 4-1 start, but are coming off a loss at Oregon State last week. Bryson Barnes was named Utah's Week 1 starter, though he suffered an injury in the loss to the Beavers that required him to be sent to a local hospital for evaluation. Nate Johnson has also seen action under center for the Utes.
"I've been grinding and doing everything I possibly can," Rising added. "Even the fact that I'm going out there and practicing and everything, I'm ahead of schedule. I'm trying to make sure I can be out there, because nobody wants to be out there grinding with those guys on the field more than me. But at the end of the day, it's my body, and my body has to recover. ... I'll be back as soon as I'm ready to go."
Rising started his collegiate career at Texas in 2018, but transferred to Utah after one season. He sat out the 2019 campaign as mandated by NCAA undergraduate transfer rules as the time before starting in one game for the Utes during the abbreviated 2020 season. He emerged as team's full-time starter several games into the 2021 campaign and has quarterbacked Utah to Pac-12 championships in each of the past two years.
