Kyle Whittingham is a smart dude, and a shrewd one, as well.
He was asked on Monday a number of questions about the very thing that has become Utah football’s No. 1 concern this season, namely, Cam Rising’s availability and health, and also a couple of issues attendant with the quarterback’s lingering injury.
One of his responses might have hinted at bad news for the Utes, but, on account of another of the coach’s responses, that troubling response could be a ruse cloaking a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma. Why? Because that’s the game Whittingham likes to play in all things injury related, from scratches to cuts to boo-boos to bumps to bruises to bends to sprains to tears to harm of any kind.
See what you make of his answers, because you’ll have to make something of them. It’s up to you.
Whittingham was asked who will make the call as to when Rising can return to action from whatever’s hurt on his throwing hand, the coaching staff or the medical staff. “Medical staff,” he said, “without any other input.”
As to whether Rising would play this week at Arizona State, after missing every minute of every game since the second quarter of the Baylor contest, Whittingham said: “We’ll see what happens this week, but there’s a chance. I can tell you that. It’s still early in the week, but we’re crossing our fingers and hoping for the best, as is Cam.”
He can tell everyone that, but it might be completely bogus.
Asked about his strategy regarding injuries, announcing them or not announcing them, and also whether he would support the conference if the Big 12 were to follow the lead of the SEC and the Big Ten, which have mandated reports that disclose injuries, Whittingham said: “One-hundred percent. But since there is no mandate, why would you tip your hand in any way, shape or form? It doesn’t make any sense to give the opponent any more knowledge than they have. And so, that’s the only reason. There’s no other reason other than it’s a competitive advantage, even though it might be just slight. It’s still an advantage. The less they know, the more we know, that type of deal. But I would support that. …”
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Utes quarterback Cameron Rising (7) runs back to the bench after celebrating a touchdown with Utah Utes quarterback Isaac Wilson (11), in Big-12 football action between the Utes and the Arizona Wildcats at Rice-Eccles Stadium, on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024.
What the coach didn’t address was the undulating effect that kind of yo-yoing has on fans who are as bamboozled as the opponent is when they are kept in the dark. They start to ask questions of their own about an athlete’s condition, and sometimes about an athlete’s attitude and desire to play, and, as in the situation with Rising, they get frustrated by the will-he-or-won’t-he-be-available gamesmanship.
Asked if Whittingham would play a player who was medically cleared, but who wasn’t yet 100 percent, he said: “It’s who gives you the best chance to win. Is an 80-percent Cam Rising more of an opportunity to win than a 100-percent Isaac Wilson? That’s a coach’s decision. … That’s the criteria we use.”
Fair enough.
This, though, is the response that might frighten the Utes and anyone interested in Utah making the most of a season that at its start was so promising, but that, next thing, was interrupted by an unexpected loss to Arizona at Rice-Eccles before last week’s bye.
Asked if Rising couldn’t play week after week, would Whittingham consider turning the page on the veteran and focus instead on the future, on playing and developing Wilson? He answered: “Yeah, there is a point. I’m not going to pin ourselves down to an exact, specific time, but as things progress and also the conference race, where are you in the conference race, there are some things that enter into it. But it certainly could come to that point. But we’re not there yet.”
Say, what?!? Is Whittingham serious?
Inside of one interview session, then, the coach went from there’s a chance that Rising could play in a few days against ASU to the quarterback’s fate could come to a point where Utah would essentially give up on bringing him back and throw all of its energy into the growth of Wilson.
Lowering an even darker cloud over the Utes’ QB predicament, speaking of Wilson, Whittingham said what is obvious but still somewhat ominous, that the teenager’s “entire game needs to continue to get tighter, and better. Cut down on the interceptions. … It’s just, he’s a freshman, a true freshman. There’s going to be a learning curve, and there’s going to be mistakes made that you’re going to have to live with. The more reps he accrues, the more playing time he gets, the less those mistakes show up.”
Yeah, uh-huh, Whittingham is a smart, shrewd dude. He played this game for a large portion of last season. And now, he shies not one bit away from taking questions and talking about Cam Rising’s injured hand, and the wide-ranging consequences that could result from his availability or his absence. All without ever diving into the details that answer the real question, the one that’s on everybody’s mind: Will QB1 play on Saturday?
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