Could Cam Rising have a 8th season of college football eligibility?

Utah quarterback Cam Rising is currently in his seventh season of college football after three redshirt seasons in his career. He has only played in three games this year, missing time due to a finger injury.

Rising returned and started Utah’s Week 7 game against Arizona State, throwing three interceptions. Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham announced Monday that the quarterback was out indefinitely due to a lower leg injury. It’s unknown if he will return this season.

Because of the injury, Rising could attempt to secure a medical redshirt and return to college football for his eighth season. That would mean sitting out for the rest of the season. The other option is working to get back on the field and entering the NFL draft.

“We’ll have to consider it, not sure if Cam has considered it,” Whittingham said Monday regarding Rising returning for an eighth year.

Injury issues have plagued Cam Rising’s college football career. The quarterback was granted a medical redshirt for the 2023 season after leaving the Rose Bowl with a major knee injury. A former Texas transfer, Rising redshirted his first season in 2018 with the Longhorns and redshirted in 2019 at Utah. The 25-year-old- quarterback played in only one game in the 2020 COVID-19 year with the Utes because of a shoulder injury 

Rising has played in only three games this season for Utah. NCAA rules state players can play in four regular season games and still redshirt. Postseason games do not count towards redshirt eligibility.

The Utah quarterback could attempt to secure a medical redshirt waiver. An athlete “may be granted an additional year of competition by the conference or the Committee on Student-Athlete Reinstatement for reasons of ‘hardship,’” according to the NCAA manual.

The waiver comes with the following requirements:

+ Student-athlete triggered use of one of their four seasons of competition
+ The injury must occur before the completion of the first half of the season — 8th contest
+ The quarterback has not participated in 30% of the max number of games — 4
+ Provide medical documentation he cannot compete

“Every waiver request is considered on a case-by-case basis depending on the full record of factual information,” the NCAA said.

Rising has had injuries throughout the season and has met the halfway point requirement. He has not played in the 30% max number of games, which factors in the Utes’ 12 games and the national championship.

Securing a medical redshirt has become a trend in college football. Oklahoma State quarterback Alan Bowman is in his seventh season after previous stops at Texas Tech and Michigan. Miami tight end Cam McCormick was granted a ninth year of eligibility in January. McCormick began his career at Oregon in 2016 and was injured at different points in four consecutive seasons. He also redshirt and had a COVID year in 2020 that allowed him to petition the NCAA for an unprecedented ninth season of eligibility.

If Rising goes this route, it’s unknown if he will return to Utah for an eighth season or enter the transfer portal for the second time. Because the NCAA altered its transfer rules, the quarterback could enter the portal and play for a new school in 2025-26 without securing a waiver.

The former four-star recruit has thrown for seven touchdowns and three interceptions with a 51.5 completion percentage in 2024.