Utah will be without quarterback Cam Rising for the foreseeable future.
Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham announced Monday that Rising will be out “indefinitely” after suffering a lower leg injury in a 27-19 loss to Arizona State on Friday night. The injury marked the last the seventh-year quarterback has suffered throughout his career.
Freshman Isaac Wilson will start in place of Rising moving forward. Whittingham did not have a specific timeline for Rising’s recovery and it is unclear if he will be able to play again this season.
“I can’t give you a timeline. It could be the rest of the season,” Whittingham said. via ESPN. “I’m not sure how long it will last exactly, but I know it will be a minute.”
Rising returned to the field for the Utes on Friday night after missing three games with a hand injury. He took a hard hit early in the pocket and had his right leg bent when he was taken down.
Although he stayed in the game, he struggled the rest of the way. Rising ended up going 16 of 37 for 209 yards and threw three interceptions.
Rising started at Texas in 2018, although he redshirted that season and then missed all of 2019 after transferring to Utah. He suffered a season-ending shoulder injury in his first game in 2020, and suffered first a concussion and then a knee injury in back-to-back Rose Bowls in 2021 and 2022. The knee injury kept Rising out of the entire season. 2023 season.
Although it’s in its seventh season, Rising could return for an eighth year next fall if it so chooses. While Whittingham said they’re open to that idea, he’s not sure if Rising would want to do it.
“Now that we’re in the situation we’re in, that’s a possibility,” he said. “We will have to explore that in detail with the compliance department. And I’m not even sure Cam is interested in going down that path. “He has a lot to think about, so he needs to take a step back right now and let this most recent injury be fully diagnosed… That would be something we talk about sooner rather than later.”
Rising, however, wasn’t too interested in returning for an eighth season in July. Without a doubt, the current situation is different from that of three months ago.
With Rising out, Wilson will start in his place. Wilson, the younger brother of Denver Broncos quarterback Zach Wilson, has made three starts this season in Rising’s absence. He was 20 of 40 for 280 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions in their loss to Arizona on Sept. 28, although he led the Utes past both Utah State and then-No. 14 Oklahoma State.
Utah, which is 4-2 on the season, will host TCU next Saturday.