Tag: Cam Rising

Jackson Arnold outside the top 10 in ESPN’s 2024 spring quarterback rankings

Oklahoma quarterback Jackson Arnold just outside ESPN’s 10 ten QBs for the 2024 season ahead of spring ball.

Anytime you have turnover at quarterback, there are bound to be questions about how the offense will perform the following season.

The Sooners are one of the teams across the country that will be starting a new quarterback in 2024. [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag] takes over for [autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag], who transferred to Oregon. And while there may be some uncertainty, the Sooners have one of the best young quarterbacks in the country.

The former five-star prospect isn’t one of the favorites to win the Heisman in 2024 and at this point. At this point he’s just outside the top-10 of ESPN’s quarterback rankings heading into the spring. And a lot of where Arnold is ranked is likely related to his inexperience at the collegiate level.

The only player without much experience that’s ranked ahead of Arnold is Tennessee Volunteers quarterback [autotag]Nico Iamaleavea[/autotag].

Arnold has a lot of talent and is a highly-regarded quarterback, but he and Iamaleava have a lot to prove still. But they’ve got all the talent in the world, and both former five-star quarterbacks were able to get their first start during bowl season.

Arnold and Iamaleava will likely provide the fireworks in the Oklahoma Sooners first conference game in the SEC when they welcome the Tennessee Volunteers to town. That could be the start of a fantastic quarterback battle over the next several years. In the offenses they run with the talent that both schools possess, both former five-star quarterbacks could be dark-horse Heisman contenders in 2024 and frontrunners in 2025.

For the Sooners, everything is set up for Arnold to find himself ranked much higher in these quarterback rankings by the end of the season. The offensive line will come together and the Sooners have a deep pool of skill talent for Arnold to work with.

Here’s a look at ESPN’s top 10.

One PAC-12 quarterback prospect announces he’s heading back to school

Cam Rising had some draft buzz in 2022 before tearing his ACL in the Rose Bowl

Most of the time when a player announces a decision to enter the draft or return to school, it’s about leaving for the NFL. That’s not the case for one PAC-12 quarterback, however.

Utah QB Cam Rising has announced he’s headed back to the Utes in 2024. Rising has not played in 2023 due to a torn ACL suffered in the Rose Bowl against Penn State. Next season will be Rising’s seventh in college; he was a member of the Texas recruiting class back in 2018.

Prior to the injury, Rising had some buzz as a potential late-round draft prospect. He was impressive in 2022 in leading Utah to a top-10 finish, completing 65 percent of his passes and racking up over 3,000 passing yards and another 465 on the ground. However, between the injuries and his advanced age, it’s unlikely any team will give Rising a shot in the 2025 NFL draft.

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Utah quarterback Cam Rising to return in 2024

“One more year,” the Utah quarterback said on social media on Sunday.

Utah starting quarterback Cameron Rising will play for the Utes again in 2024, he announced on Sunday.

Rising suffered a torn ACL in the Rose Bowl last season, an injury that eventually cost him the entire 2023 season.

In his two seasons as the Utah starter, he led the Utes to back-to-back Pac-12 conference titles and a pair of Rose Bowl appearances. He threw for 5,527 yards, 46 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions across his two years at the helm of Utah’s offense, and the Utes finished both seasons 10-4.

Rising offered a threat with his legs as well, rushing for 964 yards across the 2021-22 seasons and scoring six touchdowns each year on the ground. Kyle Whittingham will have one of the country’s best and most experienced quarterbacks back for the 2024 season.

Cam Rising, Brant Kuithe didn’t play USC this year, but they might not be done at Utah

A lot of people are asking this question.

No. 14 Utah is midway through its 2023 season and is sitting at 6-1. However, starting quarterback Cameron Rising and tight end Brant Kuithe have yet to play in 2023. This naturally leads to the question: Could the Utes’ star players apply for a medical hardship?

Rising redshirted in the 2018 season while at Texas, then sat out 2019 after transferring to Utah. Under the old system, he would have been ineligible for a medical redshirt. However, those rules are gone.

The senior QB played just one game in 2020 before suffering a season-ending injury. He played 13 games apiece in 2021 and ‘22, but suffered a torn ACL, MCL and meniscus in the 2023 Rose Bowl.

Kuithe, meanwhile, has never had a redshirt season, though he has been granted extra years of eligibility based on the number of games played.

He played in all 14 games in 2018, and did the same in 2019. Based on the 2020 season being limited to just five games because of the COVID-19 pandemic, he was granted another year of eligibility.

He then played all 14 games in 2021, but because he played fewer than five games in 2022 (he suffered a torn ACL in the fourth game of the season), yet another year of eligibility was granted.

According to Whittingham the Utes are still in wait and see mode with their star players.

“It’s just a situation where we are just waiting week after week for the thumbs up,” Whittingham said. “Here we are at the midpoint, so I don’t want to say the clock is ticking, but we’d love to have either or both of those guys back as soon as possible. Again, it’s just a waiting game. We’re waiting for the go-ahead.”

It would also be a matter of whether Rising or Kuithe wanted to return for another year. Rising would be 25 years old next season and Kuithe turns 24 in December.

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Follow Fighting Irish Wire for more on Notre Dame.

Follow Buffaloes Wire for complete coverage of Deion Sanders and Colorado.

Follow Ducks Wire for coverage of Oregon football.

Oklahoma fans were right about Lincoln Riley, at least for this specific season.

USC assistants need to be coaching for their jobs.

Lincoln Riley did not assemble an elite 2023 roster, which surprised us and a lot of other observers.

Is USC ready to win in 2024 with Miller Moss or Malachi Nelson at quarterback? Lincoln Riley has to be honest about how he answers that question.

Brent Venables is coaching Oklahoma far better this year than Lincoln Riley is coaching USC. It’s up to Riley to change that reality.

Injury Report: Updated look at injury news for No. 8 Oregon and No. 13 Utah

Injury Report: Updated look at injury news for No. 8 Oregon and No. 13 Utah

It’s Week 9 of the college football season and the two injury reports for Oregon and Utah are very different.

The Ducks are relatively healthy with just one player definitely out, but the Utes have a long laundry list of injured players that are out for the season, or dealing with certain nagging injuries going into this week.

The Utes’ injuries haven’t seemed to slow them down much as Utah is 6-1 overall, 3-1 in conference, and are coming off an impressive 34-32 win at USC.

Quarterback Cam Rising is the biggest name on the list, but the all-Pac-12 performer has been out all season. Utah is just now getting used to the fact Rising will not be available in 2023.

Oregon received a bit of a scare last week when running back Bucky Irving went down late in the Washington State game, he should be good to go against Utah on Saturday.

Here is an updated look on injuries that you should be aware of going into this game:

Utah QB drama, a season-long reality, could affect USC’s season on Saturday

Signs currently point to Bryson Barnes being the QB for Utah against USC. Cam Rising still hasn’t played this season.

The college football world first became aware of quarterback Bryson Barnes during Utah’s first Rose Bowl appearance in 2022 after Cam Rising suffered a concussion against Ohio State. With Rising still unavailable to play, Barnes and teammate Nate Johnson have quarterbacked Utah through Week 7. Everyone is waiting to see if Rising might become available for the Utes in Week 8 against USC. It could be the most important story attached to this game.

Barnes has been up and down this season and has battled through his own injuries this year.

Bryson Barnes has played in four games with two starts, recording 270 yards on 23-of-45 passing (1 TD, 2 INT) and adding 14 carries for 29 yards and a touchdown.

Nate Johnson has played in five games, going 39-of-72 passing (3 TD) for 499 yards, adding 56 rushes for 153 yards and three touchdowns.

USC Football’s Oct. 21 home game versus Utah will kick off just aftre 5:00 p.m. Pacific time and will air nationally on Fox.

Follow Fighting Irish Wire for more on Notre Dame after the Irish beat USC.

Follow Buffaloes Wire for complete coverage of Deion Sanders and Colorado.

Follow Ducks Wire for coverage of Oregon football after the loss to Washington.

Oklahoma fans were right about Lincoln Riley, at least for this specific season.

USC assistants need to be coaching for their jobs against Utah and into November.

Lincoln Riley did not assemble an elite 2023 roster, which surprised us and a lot of other observers.

Is USC ready to win in 2024 with Miller Moss or Malachi Nelson at quarterback? Lincoln Riley has to be honest about how he answers that question.

Brent Venables is coaching Oklahoma far better this year than Lincoln Riley is coaching USC. It’s up to Riley to change that reality against Utah.

Cam Rising’s health becomes a huge point of interest for USC

Rising is not expected to play against Cal. If he doesn’t play, that means USC could be his season debut.

This is a big developing story in the Pac-12. We all thought Cam Rising would play sometime in late September or early October, but that simply isn’t happening.

We asked our Pac-12 panel: Does Cam Rising need to play this week against Cal in order for Utah to have a reasonable chance against USC, or can Rising make his debut against the Trojans and still win on October 21?

Matt Wadleigh: Utah has had USC’s number, but Rising needs a tune-up game after such a long layoff and some worrisome injury details. If he does play against Cal, maybe he just plays one half then sees how everything feels.

Matt Zemek: I think so. Rising needs at least one warm-up game to flush out the rust and establish relationships with his receivers. All of Rising’s time off, spent in street clothes, has to give way to some real action and a good test which sharpens his instincts and builds his fitness base. Consider how rusty Mason Cobb was at linebacker for USC against Arizona State. That was after a three-week injury, not a several-month injury. Rising definitely needs some meaningful work in the Cal game to build toward the USC game. Similarly, he needs the USC game on October 21 to build toward the Oregon game on October 28. This is a very important story in the Pac-12 right now.

Zachary Neel: It would be nice for Rising to get a game under his belt before taking on the Trojans in a big-time matchup, but I don’t think that USC’s defense is exactly the juggernaut that you fear sticking a rusty QB up against. It would be better if he could get his feet wet against Cal, but it’s not the end of the world if he has to jump into the fire against the Trojans.

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Follow Fighting Irish Wire for more on Notre Dame as the Irish prepare to face USC.

Follow Buffaloes Wire for complete coverage of Deion Sanders and Colorado.

Follow Ducks Wire for coverage of Oregon football leading into the big game against Washington on October 14.

Prominent Pac-12 sports journalist thinks USC is likely to fire Alex Grinch before season’s end.

USC and Lincoln Riley need to have a plan in place if Alex Grinch coaches poorly and loses to Notre Dame.

Notre Dame’s offensive coordinator might actually be worse than Alex Grinch, a fascinating plot point heading into the October 14 renewal of Irish-Trojans.

Brent Venables is coaching Oklahoma far better this year than Lincoln Riley is coaching USC. It’s up to Riley to change that reality against Notre Dame and Utah.

Utah’s Cam Rising goes in-depth on knee injury in radio interview

Utah Utes star quarterback Cam Rising gave further insight into his knee injury that has kept him out so far this season

Over the last few weeks, Utah star quarterback Cam Rising’s availability has been one of the top stories not just for the Utes but in all of college football. Leading up to the season, it appeared that while Rising may miss the first week or two of the season, the signal caller would eventually be able to return early this season.

Now, entering week six of the season, Rising’s potential return remains a mystery.

The last time the college football world saw Rising was on January 2, 2023, against the Penn State Nittany Lions in the Rose Bowl.

In the Rose Bowl, Rising would go down with a knee injury in the third quarter of the Utes’ eventual loss to the Nittany Lions. For most of the last nine months, it was under the assumption that Rising suffered a torn ACL in the game. However, that was far from the case.

On a weekly radio spot on ESPN 700 in Salt Lake City, Rising gave further insight into his knee injury as he continued to work his way back from the injury.

“I wasn’t really expecting to do this,” Rising told radio ESPN 700 host Bill Riley on Thursday. “But I think it’s important that I just let everybody know.  I didn’t just tear my ACL. I tore my ACL, meniscus, MPFL (medial patellofemoral ligament), and MCL. It was a big surgery and it’s not an easy comeback.”

Rising would further add that both Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray and then Tennessee Volunteers quarterback Hendon Hooker both suffered similar injuries late last year for their respective teams but have chosen to not play this season. Rising, however, has chosen to try to work his way back to the field this fall, a tough task to say the least.

“I’m grinding and doing everything I possibly can,” he said. “I’m ahead of schedule. I’m trying to make sure that I can be out there because no one wants to be out there with those guys grinding on the field more than me. But at the end of the day, it’s my body, it’s my body that has to recover, and not really anyone that can say much besides the best doctor in the world, Doctor ElAttrache, down in LA, can say. I haven’t really talked to any other doctors about my knee. Just been focused on continuing to improve each and every day and I know I’m getting closer. Just gotta keep making the days count. I’ll be back as I’m ready to go.”

While Rising looks to continue to work his way back to the field of play, the Utah Utes are looking to survive a rigorous Pac-12 schedule without him. The Utes are 4-1 on the season but are coming off their first loss of the season, a 21-7 defeat at the hands of the Oregon State Beavers in Corvallis last Friday. The Utes are off this week but will return to action next Saturday against the California Golden Bears.

Even without Cam Rising, Utah’s lack of offense in 2023 has been jarring

Of course Utah’s offense won’t be as good without Cam Rising, but just one score in two straight games? That’s really bad.

Of course the Utah offense won’t function as well without Cam Rising at quarterback. Rising is the Utes’ best quarterback and their preferred option at the most important position on the field. Not having Rising was always going to limit what Utah could achieve. The Utes desperately need Rising to get back on the field. We know this. There’s nothing new in that basic observation. However, the story goes deeper than that.

Even without Cam Rising, one wasn’t necessarily ready to expect Utah to hit rock bottom the way it has in its last two games. The Utes scored 14 points against UCLA, but seven were on a pick-six, so their offense scored just seven points versus the Bruins. Then Utah scored just seven points last Friday in a 21-7 loss to Oregon State.

One score. Seven points. Two straight games. The Utah offense should at least be able to cobble together 14 to 17 points and be moderately competitive with their offensive line and their other players.

They’re not. Bryson Barnes and — on Friday in Corvallis — Nate Johnson aren’t getting the job done.

Utah fans are not having a good time. See the ugly details below:

Experts agree: Utah needs Cam Rising at Oregon State in Pac-12 Friday game

At lunchtime on Thursday — 30 hours before kickoff — signs pointed to Rising NOT playing at Oregon State. We’ll see.

Utah travels to Corvallis to face Oregon State on Friday night in a big Pac-12 game. Oregon State can’t afford to fall to 0-2 in Pac-12 play after losing to Washington State the week before. The Beavers have zero margin for error in the Pac-12 race. Falling to 0-2 would mean they would have to run the table to have even a slight chance of making the Pac-12 Championship Game on December 1. Running the table would mean Oregon State would have to beat both Oregon and Washington.

Good luck with that.

The Beavers really need to win here and give themselves a head-to-head tiebreaker over Utah if there’s a two- or three-team tie in the standings later in the season.

Right now, indications are — per Utah beat writer Joshua Newman — that Utah quarterback Cam Rising is unlikely to play at Oregon State. He hasn’t been ruled out — as of lunchtime on Thursday — but signs are pointing to Nate Johnson as the probable starter for the Utes.

Our Pac-12 football experts all agree that Rising simply has to be on the field for Utah to have a good chance of winning in Corvallis: