Tag: Cam Rising

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.

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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:

Pac-12 preview: the biggest keys to UCLA-Utah

All eyes are on Cam Rising, regardless of whether he takes the field in Utah’s game against UCLA.

There are three Pac-12 games this weekend between ranked teams. One of them is UCLA-Utah.

We went to our Pac-12 panel and asked the question, point-blank: What is the biggest key to UCLA-Utah?

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Don Smalley, Ducks Wire: If Cam Rising plays. The Bruins are good and Dante Moore is the real deal. No wonder Oregon wanted him so badly. Utah won’t beat UCLA with the backup QB. Don’t be shocked if the Bruins win.

Zachary Neel, Ducks Wire: I think the biggest key for UCLA will to be to limit mistakes offensively. They have the talent to beat Utah, but putting a true freshman QB in this caliber of game gives me a little bit of pause. If Dante Moore can play a clean game, I think the Bruins come out on top.

Matt Wadleigh, Trojans and Buffaloes Wire: The status of Cam Rising. If he plays, Utah’s chances go up significantly. If not, I’m going to roll with UCLA to get the win. The Utes need Rising to suit up, and Dante Moore and the Bruins have begun to figure things out.

Matt Zemek, Trojans Wire: Cam Rising. Can he play, and will he play well if he does indeed take the field for the Utes? If Rising doesn’t play, Nate Johnson’s running ability becomes central to the game’s outcome.

Catch all of Ducks Wire’s Pac-12 team previews for the 2023 season:

Arizona — Arizona State — California — Colorado — Oregon State  — Stanford — UCLA — USC — Utah — Washington — Washington State

Notable QBs that transferred from Texas starting elsewhere

There is a handful of former Texas quarterbacks starting elsewhere this season.

With Sam Ehlinger leading the charge a few seasons ago, Texas was thought to have a very bright group of quarterbacks behind him. Continue reading “Notable QBs that transferred from Texas starting elsewhere”

Will Utah’s starting QB be healthy for Florida’s season opener?

The Utah Utes are still waiting to see how quickly Cam Rising’s ACL can heal, but the season opener against Florida is quickly approaching.

Florida football’s first game of the 2023 season is four weeks away, and it’s still unclear whether the Gators will be playing an opponent with a healthy starting quarterback.

Utah is set to host the second half of a home-and-home series on Aug. 31, but the Utes could be without Cam Rising, who tore his ACL on Jan. 2 at the Rose Bowl.

Rising began fall training camp in an extremely limited capacity. He’s currently cleared to perform “basic football functions like throwing and dropping back,” according to KSL Sports.

“He’ll be practicing, but he’ll have limitations,” Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham said. “That will pretty much be the report for at least a couple of weeks, practicing with limitations, and hopefully some of those start to get lifted as we get deep into camp, but today was a good start and we just have to be intelligent about it.”

The goal is obviously to get Rising ready for the start of the season, but the team isn’t going to risk another injury early. Of course, an upset loss to open the season could change those plans.

Behind Rising are redshirt freshmen Brandon Rose and Nate Johnson, as well as junior Bryson Barnes. Rose is the favorite to win the job.

Whittingham has bought himself roughly two weeks before reporters begin hounding him for another serious update. It’s going to be tough for Rising to be at 100% by the end of the month, and that’s a good thing for Florida.

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Which Pac-12 team is best set up for future success at the QB position?

Which Pac-12 team is best set up for future success at the QB position?

We know that the Pac-12 is expected to be one of the preeminent conferences in the nation this upcoming season when it comes to quarterback play. With reigning Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams leading the way, you also have guys like Bo Nix, Michael Penix, Cam rushing, and DJ Uiagalelei taking center stage out west. It would be hard to find another conference in the nation that has as many projected stars among the starters.

While it’s clear that 2023 will not be a problem for passers in the Pac, we wanted to take a look at the future. Recently, ESPN released their Top 25 Future Quarterback Power Rankings, where they looked at the current landscape of passers, as well as the depth chart, incoming recruits, and propensity to land transfers at that position. A handful of Pac-12 teams were ranked prominently, but there were several other teams that got cut.

We wanted to take things a little bit further and flesh out where all of the Pac-12 teams stand when it comes to future QB production and success.

The Oregon Ducks and Washington Huskies may be set up for success under center in 2023, but what does the future look like based on depth? The USC Trojans bring back a Heisman winner this year, but is the future just as bright in Los Angeles?

Let’s find out. Here are our Pac-12 Future QB Power Rankings.

Utah’s Cam Rising continues to be on schedule in rehab from ACL tear

Utes head coach Kyle Whittingham offers an update on quarterback Cam Rising.

In a recent interview with Josh Newman of The Salt Lake Tribune, Utah Utes head coach Kyle Whittingham offered an update on Utes start quarterback Cam Rising.

“Whittingham told The Salt Lake Tribune last week in a wide-ranging interview that Rising is on, if not ahead of schedule in his recovery,” Newman said in his article regarding Rising’s return. He suffered an ACL tear in the first half of Utah’s Rose Bowl 35-21 defeat to Penn State on January 2.

However, while he remains on schedule, it still is unclear if he will be ready for week one of the Utes season when they host the Florida Gators on August 31. Newman notes that for Rising to play in their season opener he would likely have to be available to practice at least by the mid-way point of the Utes fall camp.

“If he’s not ready until a few days before the game, it’s unlikely he would play in that game because he just wouldn’t be completely sharp in all other areas,” Whittingham also said in the interview.

For Rising, the ACL injury marked the second-straight season he suffered an injury in the Rose Bowl which kept him from finishing the game. In the 2022 Rose Bowl, Rising suffered a concussion early in the fourth quarter against Ohio State. The Utes would eventually go on to lose 48-45 on a field goal as time expired.

Rising, entering his sixth year of college football completed 64.7% of his passes in the 2022 season for 3,034 yards and 26 touchdowns while also adding 465 yards and six additional touchdowns on the ground.

If Rising is unavailable for the Utes’ season opener on August 31, the Utes will decide between fourth-year quarterback Bryson Barnes and a pair of second-year quarterbacks, Brandon Rose and Nate Johnson.

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Ranking the Pac-12 QB situations from best to worst ahead of 2023 season

It’s hard to find a conference stacked with more elite QBs than the Pac-12 will be in 2023. But which team should feel the best about their starter?

The final piece of the Pac-12 conference’s quarterback puzzle fell into place on Monday afternoon when Utah’s Cam Rising announced he would return to the Utes for the 2023 season.

Now, we finally have a really good picture of who will be playing where and likely starting at the end of this offseason.

If you hadn’t taken a look at some of the names, get ready to be impressed.

Bo Nix, Michael Penix and Rising put the NFL draft off for a year to compete one more season in college. Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams has another year before he’s even eligible for the draft. Two high-profile players arrived via the transfer portal. Former Clemson star DJ Uiagalelei landed with Oregon State and Shedeur Sanders followed his dad, Deion Sanders, from Jackson State to Colorado. If all of that wasn’t enough, five-star quarterback Dante Moore, the No. 3 QB in the 2023 class, is in line to potentially start at UCLA.

It feels safe to say the quarterback play in the Pac-12 is going to be pretty stellar next season, and there’s a real chance the conference as a whole is viewed as one of the best in the nation. Five teams are already ranked in the preseason top 25.

To help us get a feel for who will be the best of the best in the West, we wanted to look at each QB situation and rank it based on which team feels the most comfortable.

This will undoubtedly change over the offseason, so we plan to revisit it before fall ball starts. However, here are our early offseason QB rankings for the Pac-12.