Cam Rising injury update: Utah QB's status revealed for Arizona State game

Utah quarterback Cam Rising will start on Friday against Arizona State, per Action Network’s Brett McMurphy. Rising has missed Utah’s last three games and last played on Sept. 7 in Utah’s 23-12 win over Baylor.

In the win, Rising injured the ring finger on his throwing hand, which required stitches. Isaac Wilson has started in Rising’s absence, leading Utah to a 2-1 record. In Wilson’s three starts this season, he’s amassed 726 passing yards and five touchdowns while throwing five interceptions.

In comparison, Rising notched 346 passing yards and seven scores without throwing an interception in his two appearances this season thus far. Now, Rising will return to the field for the Utes after enjoying a bye this past weekend.

Utah is coming off a 23-10 loss to Arizona — the team’s first loss of the season. Wilson struggled in the loss, only completing 10-of-his-20 passes for one touchdown while throwing two interceptions.

While Utah’s season is far from over, head coach Kyle Whittingham knows his team can’t afford to suffer any more unexpected setbacks.

“It’s very crucial, we’ve got our backs against the wall in a lot of respects right now,” Whittingham said on Monday. “We’ve got to get back on track, we did not play well against Arizona. You can be a good football team and not play well and get your butt handed to you.”

Cam Rising isn’t used to getting his butt handed to him. In his two seasons as the program’s full-time starter, Rising led Utah to back-to-back Pac-12 titles. If he can remain healthy, he could help the Utes find similar success in their first year in the Big 12.

Whittingham has liked what he’s seen from his team at practice this week.

“The thing I hate about these byes where you’re coming off a loss because you’re sitting on the loss for two weeks,” Whittingham said on Tuesday. “Hopefully we’ll play well, we’ve practiced well, which is usually a good indication, so we’ll see.”

On Friday, Utah and Arizona State will square off at 10:30 p.m. ET. The game will air live on ESPN.