Top college football QB 'out indefinitely' after loss to Arizona State
Cam Rising's season - and college football career - might be over.
Utah coach Kyle Whittingham addressed Rising's status in his Monday press conference, and he said the Utes are going back to true freshman Isaac Wilson at quarterback.
“Tough weekend in Tempe. Cam Rising is out indefinitely, Isaac Wilson will be our starter until further notice,” Whittingham said to start Monday's press conference. "That way we don't have to address that each time we talk. I can't give you a timeline. It could be the rest of the season. I'm not sure how exactly long it will be, but I know it's going to be a minute."
Rising, a seventh-year senior, struggled in the Utes' 27-19 loss to Arizona State on Friday. It was his first game back since injuring his throwing hand against Baylor on Sept. 7. Playing with a glove on his throwing hand, Rising went 16-of-37 for 209 yards and 3 interceptions. He took a nasty hit early in the game where he appeared to roll his ankle. Whether it was his ankle or his inability to grip the ball - or both - a majority of his throws were short and off target.
Arizona State linebacker Caleb McCullough intercepted two of his passes, with the second pick sealing the game with less than two minutes to play.
Wilson, the younger brother of Denver Broncos backup quarterback Zach Wilson, was a 4-star recruit out of high school and was coveted by Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham.
"We lost," said Dillingham when asked about going head-to-head with Utah for Wilson. "We recruited him. He was one of our top guys."
,Wilson, a dual-threat QB, has completed 55.7% of his passes this season while throwing 6 touchdown passes and 7 interceptions.
There is a sizable gap in experience between the 25-year-old Rising and Wilson. Rising is older than six starting quarterbacks in the NFL, including the San Francisco 49ers' third-year starter Brock Purdy (24) and 2023 NFL Rookie of the Year C.J. Stroud (23).
Rising, who is widely considered one of the best quarterbacks in college football, could potentially return for an eighth season of college football. Despite being in college for seven years, he has only used two years of eligibility.
"Now that we're in the situation that we're in, that's a possibility," Whittingham said. "We'll have to explore that in detail with the compliance department. And I'm not even sure Cam would be interested in going that route. He's got a lot to think about, and so [he needs] to just take a step back right now and let them get this most recent injury thoroughly diagnosed. ... That would be something we're talking about sooner rather than later."
More Arizona State & Big 12 analysis
Ben Sherman has been covering the sports world for most of his journalism career, including 17 years with The Oregonian/OregonLive. One of his favorite memories was covering the 1999 Fiesta Bowl - the first BCS National Championship Game - at Sun Devil Stadium.