Utah quarterback Cam Rising limited at start of fall camp
GAINESVILLE. Fla. — Will Utah senior quarterback Cam Rising be able to play against the Florida Gators in the season opener? That was the first question asked of Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham after the Utes opened up fall camp this week.
Rising suffered an ACL tear in the third quarter of Utah’s Rose Bowl loss to Penn State. He has spent the last six months rehabbing and was able to return to the practice field this week, although in a limited fashion.
“He’ll be practicing, but he’ll have limitations,” Whittingham told local reporters. “That will pretty much be the report for at least a couple of weeks, practicing with limitations, and hopefully some of those limitations start to get lifted as we get deep into camp. Today was a good start and we just have to be intelligent about it.”
Utah tweeted out a highlight from practice with Rising hitting receive Mycah Pittman for a long reception.
Whittingham has maintained that Rising is on schedule but the senior quarterback is still limited in what he is allowed to do while practicing.
“He can’t get hit. Right now we don’t want him reacting to defenders. Just going through his mechanics, his footwork,” Whittingham said. “He can throw and do all the throwing he needs to do. We just gotta make sure that we stay away at this point from sudden movements and change of direction.”
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At Pac-12 media day, Whittingham said Rising would need to be ready to go 10-14 days before the August 31 opener.
Quarterbacks behind Cam Rising
In Rising’s absence, there has been a three-man race to be the backup, or starter if Rising isn’t able to play. Redshirt freshman Brandon Rose, redshirt freshman Nate Johnson, and junior Bryson Barnes are all competing to backup Rising. One report stated that Rose was penciled in as QB2 coming out of the spring game. Whittingham seemed to confirm that this week as well.
“Brandon came out of spring slightly ahead of the other guys,” Whittingham told the Desert News. “He’s taking the No. 2 reps right now. And actually a lot of the No. 1 reps that Cam can’t take depending on what drill we’re in. Nate doing a nice job and Bryson Barnes is doing a nice job. So those three guys are going to continue to compete until we can confidently separate them.”
If Rising is cleared to play against Florida, how effective can the senior be coming off of the knee injury? Ultimately, the decision will come down to the wire and be up to Rising and the Utah medical staff.
