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Utah coach Kyle Whittingham looks on during first day of fall camp at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Monday, July 29, 2024. | Liv Medivitz, Utah Athletics
All three of Cam Rising’s seasons as the starting quarterback at Utah have ended early, from a shoulder injury in the 2020 season opener against USC, to a concussion in the fourth quarter in the Rose Bowl against Ohio State that knocked him out of the rest of the game, to a season-ending injury at the 2023 Rose Bowl against Penn State that resulted in a torn ACL, meniscus, MPFL and MCL, and the ensuing post-surgery recovery that kept him out of the entire 2023 season.
Utah’s goal in its first season in the Big 12 is to win the league and earn the College Football Playoff bid that will come from doing so, but in order for that to happen, Rising needs to be healthy and available for the entire season.
As demonstrated in back-to-back Pac-12 championship seasons, the veteran Utah quarterback — now in his seventh year in college football after a redshirt season at Texas, an extra year of eligibility due to COVID-19, and a medical redshirt — elevates the Utes’ offense in a way very few modern Utah signal-callers have done, with 5,572 career yards and 46 touchdowns.
“Having Cam Rising back, that’s the biggest factor for us this season is to have Cam back at quarterback,” Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said. “He’s the alpha dog of the football team, the unquestioned leader. And we have to keep him upright this year. We keep him upright, we’ve got a really good chance.”
After last year’s string of season-ending injuries, including Rising, tight end Brant Kuithe, tight end Thomas Yassmin, running back Chris Curry, wide receiver Mycah Pittman, linebacker Lander Barton and defensive end Logan Fano, Utah is changing things up in fall camp to try…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/kyle-whittingham-keep-cam-rising-211226925.html
Author : Deseret News
Publish date : 2024-07-30 21:12:26
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