Skip to main content

Utah QB Cam Rising to become OC at high school alma mater Newbury Park (Calif.)

hunterby:Hunter Shelton•05/07/25•

HunterShelton_

Utah QB Cam Rising
Kirby Lee | USA TODAY Sports

On Wednesday, Utah quarterback Cam Rising announced that he’s medically retiring from football. The longtime Utes gunslinger isn’t stepping away from the game entirely, however.

Not long after Rising’s announcement, On3’s Hayes Fawcett reported that the QB is headed back to California to become the new offensive coordinator at his high school alma mater, Newbury Park.

In 2024, Newbury Park was one of the top programs in the Golden State, finishing with a 14-1 record. The Panthers were the No. 15 team in the state of California, per the On3 Composite Rankings. In their 15 games last year, the Panthers offense averaged over 36 points per game. After winning its first 14 games, Newbury Park fell 34-27 to San Diego Lincoln in CIF-State Division 1-AA regional.

Newbury Park is led by recent Michigan commit and four-star QB prospect Brady Smigiel. He threw for 3,521 yards and 49 touchdowns to just three interceptions last season and also ran for over 400 yards and 11 scores. Across three seasons, Smigiel has already thrown for over 11,000 yards and 147 TDs.

Smigiel’s father, Joe, is the head coach of the Panthers. Other offensive weapons entering their senior seasons at Newbury Park including wide receiver Beau Smigiel and four-star tight end Hayden Vercher, an Arizona State commit.

Rising announces retirement

It was a hand injury that Rising suffered against Baylor last season that led to him missing nine games and has now led to his medical retirement. He announced the news Wednesday afternoon in a post on X.

“Due to a hand injury I suffered during the Baylor game, I’ve been advised by two orthopedic physicians that I will never be able to return to playing football,” Rising said in a statement. “I’ll be obtaining a 3rd medical opinion and will udnergo the recommended surgery. I will continue to rehab and do all I can to get healthy. In the meantime, I will unfortunately be forced to medically retire from the game I love.

“My why has always been my family. I have always thought of my teammates as my brothers and always will. Thank you guys for always pushing me to improve and just making this game enjoyable. Thank you to the coaches for guiding me in the right direction to become a better man and football player. Coach Ludwig, thank you for turning me into a football nerd and showing me the correct way to respect that game. Lastly, thank you to all the fans and everyone that supported me throughout my career. You all made the moments special.”

Coming out of Newbury Park, Rising was a four-star prospect in the 2018 cycle. He finished as the No. 261 overall prospect, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

Texas was the school he signed with coming out of high school, choosing to play for Tom Herman. Casey Thompson, another college football journeyman, was in the same class. However, only one season was spent in Austin before heading out West to play for Utah. Head coach Kyle Whittingham is the one who took Rising under his wing and saw the results play out for the Utes.

Rising wound up playing in 30 games during his time in Salt Lake City. He attempted 778 passes while completing 490 of them for a percentage of 63%. Just over 6,100 yards were thrown for with 53 touchdowns and 17 interceptions.

The 2021 and 2022 seasons were when Rising was able to play a complete schedule. Utah won the Pac-12 on both occasions and made its way to the Rose Bowl for the first two times in program history.

On3’s Griffin McVeigh contributed to this report.