Utah Utes quarterback situation still unclear as season opener looms
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The Utah Utes will host the Florida Gators on August 31, who will be under center for them remains a massive question mark. The Gators named Graham Mertz its starting quarterback last week. Utah has a veteran starting quarterback in Cameron Rising, but Rising is less than seven months post-ACL surgery and hasn’t been fully cleared to participate in practice.
Complicating matters was an injury to Brandon Rose, the presumed backup to Rising, in practice. Details of the injury, outside of rumor, have not been made available. Rose was hospitalized briefly, but a timetable for his return is not available, outside of this from reporter Josh Newman.
Tuesday, Kyle Whittingham met with reporters and fielded questions about his tenuous quarterback room. There was nothing new on Rising’s status, no change. Whittingham had said that Rising would be limited for the first couple weeks of fall camp, but that status has trickled into the third week. Rising is a veteran, so Whittingham isn’t worried about him being ready mentally. Ultimately, it will come down to the doctors clearing Rising for full participation in practice before the game on August 31.
Utah Utes quarterbacks behind Rising
Rose was injured during a practice where the quarterbacks were made live, meaning they were allowed to be hit or tackled. A head-scratching move considering your starting quarterback is already injured. Whittingham explained and defended that coaching decision.
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“It depends; it goes both ways,” Whittingham told Josh Furlong of KSL.com “If you’re an established guy like Cam, you’re not going to get hit at all. If you’re a younger guy, then we need to find out what your ability is to extend plays, because you don’t get a true flavor of that or a true read on that unless you make them live. You don’t know what they could have gotten out of and what they couldn’t have, so it’s just a case-by-case basis and how much we need to find out about a certain individual.”
Without Rose, and potentially without Rising, the Utes would next turn to junior Bryson Barnes. Barnes played in 10 games with one start last season. He completed 37-of-57 passes for 430 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions. He added 116 rushing yards on 20 carries.
With the game just over two weeks away, Utah finds itself in an unenviable spot at the most important position on the field.
