It’s been more than 550 days since Cam Rising has played in a college football game.
In that time, Utah’s seventh-year quarterback has gone through a long, gruesome rehab process to return from the ACL, MCL, MPFL and meniscus tears he suffered in the Rose Bowl vs. Penn State on Jan. 2, 2023. Nicko and Eunice Rising, Cam’s father and mother, were in the stands that evening, as they watched their son writhe in pain and limp off the field in front of 94,873 fans.
The memory of that game has since faded. The Utes have played a full season without Rising. They’ve changed conferences from the Pac-12 to the Big 12. But, even when everything has changed around Utah’s program, the Utes quarterback has been determined to return for the 2024 season, despite the injury raising questions about the future of his football career.
“When it happened, it was heartbreaking,” Nicko Rising told The Salt Lake Tribune. “I don’t care to go back to the Rose Bowl, even if it’s down the street from our house.
“I think, even though at the time it was devastating and caused great concern for his career moving forward, it turned out to be a blessing. He did everything he could to get back in time for last year, but it ended up not working out.”
At Big 12 Media Days, the redshirt senior indicated he was day-to-day throughout the majority of 2023, but he faced multiple setbacks that didn’t allow him to step onto the field. Rising is set to enter his seventh collegiate season ahead of 2024, with a chance to obtain eligibility for an eighth season, if he were able to successfully argue he missed his redshirt season at Texas due to reasons outside of his control.
(Meg Oliphant | Special to The Tribune) Utah quarterback Cameron Rising (7) is escorted off the field after an injury in the third quarter against the Penn State Nittany Lions at Rose Bowl Stadium on Jan. 2, 2023 in Pasadena, California.
Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham, who will be entering his 20th season as the program’s head coach, knows that the success of the Utes’ 2024 season relies heavily on the shoulders of their starting quarterback.
When Rising is on the field, the Utes are 18-6, which is tied for fifth all-time among Utah’s all-time starting quarterbacks.
“At this point in time, he’s 100%,” Whittingham said at Big 12 Media Days. “Hopefully, there’s not something that rears its ugly head and there are no setbacks. But he’s had a terrific spring. He was not hit at all in spring, but he did every drill, every day with no issues, and so we’re expecting him (to be ready to go) on the opening day.”
Throughout his rehab process, Rising spent the offseason driving to and from Santa Monica at 6:30 a.m. to receive treatments from top physicians in California. When he was at home with his family, he’d take ice baths and work out his injured knee.
With the struggles he faced behind the scenes, Nicko and his family are more than ready to see him take the field.
“I’m chomping at the bit to see him play,” Nicko said. “I’m just counting the days. I think this team has the potential to be really, really, really good. Obviously, they have to stay healthy. Cam has to stay healthy.”
In response to Rising and other players’ injury histories, Whittingham and the Utah coaching staff will be implementing a new training regimen ahead of the 2024 season. Utah’s head coach says it will be similar to the NFL model, where the team will slowly ramp up with added rest days instead of going full speed from day one.
Whittingham hopes the changes will help keep players like Rising healthy throughout the season.
“We’ll go for two days, and then have three days off,” Whittingham said. “In the strength room we’ve done some modifications to our lifting to prevent soft-tissue injuries. We’ve looked at the warm-up and the stretch routines, so we’ve looked at every possible thing that we can do, and we’ll implement some of those (in fall camp).”
As for Rising, he’s looking to avoid taking unnecessary hits this season. Nicko says that means he’ll slide instead of going shoulder first into a defender. With a blend of cautiousness and competitiveness, Rising wants to start every game this season, as the Utes look to have a berth into the 12-team College Football Playoff for the first time in program history.
“I’ve worked on a lot of different mechanics that have been new to me,” the quarterback said last week in Las Vegas. “I think that has ultimately made me more accurate and more stable in a lot of situations so I can get the ball out faster. That’s been the biggest growth for me.”
When the redshirt senior suffered a concussion vs. Ohio State in the Rose Bowl in 2021, he pinballed between defenders in the pocket before being slammed head first into the ground. He then laid motionless on the grass before being ruled out with a concussion.
It’s those types of unnecessary injuries that he wants to avoid in 2024. As Whittingham described it, the seventh-year quarterback has to be “judicious” when he scrambles outside of the pocket to avoid taking big hits.
“He’ll do whatever it takes to get it done and extend the drive,’ Nicko said. “But, it’s not that important if you’re up two scores, and it’s early in the game. He’s got to be selective with it.
“You can talk to him until you’re blue in the gills about being cautious, and I hope he hears it. But at the end of day, Cam’s going to do what Cam is going to do. And, I mean, that’s just who he is.”
With so many questions regarding his health, Rising and Whittingham are focused on the positives of the upcoming season. The Utes were rated as the No. 1 team in the preseason Big 12 poll, which is an indication of their team’s strength heading into the 2024 season.
Beyond 2024, both Whittingham and Rising’s futures with the Utes are in question. Utah’s head coach has continued to drop hints about his retirement, including on the main stage of Big 12 Media Days in Las Vegas.
Rising seemingly shut down the thought of an eighth year of college football, saying that “seven years is more than enough” when asked about his future in Las Vegas. His father shared the same sentiment when asked by The Salt Lake Tribune.
“Cam’s got to stay healthy, and then he will be ready to go take his chances at the next level,” Nicko said. “That’s his goal, and it’s been his goal. The timing of the injury didn’t allow that to happen two years ago.”
That means it’s now or never for Utah’s quarterback, the program and, potentially, even Whittingham.
The only roadblock in their way is Rising’s health.
“He’s got to be selective about his exposure,” Nicko said.
“He’s learned that lesson by now.”
Editor’s note • This story is available to Salt Lake Tribune subscribers only. Thank you for supporting local journalism.
