Utah football: Is Cam Rising going to play against UCLA?

Utah football has a big game against UCLA this week. Will Cam Rising make his debut for the Utes? It appears that way. 

One of the defining aspects so far of the 2023 college football season has been the stellar play of quarterbacks but one elite quarterback, Utah football’s Cam Rising hasn’t played yet after tearing his ACL in the Rose Bowl back in January.

There was talk about him being able to play in the season opener against Florida, but his backup Bryson Barnes, wound up handling things which turned into an easy win over the Gators.

Barnes only has one touchdown pass in three games so far this season, while Nate Johnson, more of a dual threat, also has just one TD pass, although he has a team-high three rushing touchdowns as well as 148 yards.

Those guys have done a great job of getting Utah football to 3-0, but with another top-25 matchup looming Saturday against UCLA, the Utes could really use Cam Rising and according to Brett McMurphy, he could be making a return this week.

Cam Rising practiced last week and was a full participant, according to McMurphy — he just didn’t take part in contact. That will have to happen at some point, but if he’s able to play, Utah football could use him, simply because he’s one of the best quarterbacks in college football.

Rising has accounted for 58 total touchdowns over the past two seasons (46 passing and 12 rushing) as well as rushing for over 450 yards in both 2021 and 2022. Last season, he also threw for over 3,000 yards and that kind of quarterback with the defense put out by Kyle Whittingham is a formula for winning another Pac-12 championship.

People seem to forget that Cam Rising and Utah football have won the last two Pac-12 titles. The 11th-ranked Utes will host 22nd-ranked UCLA on Saturday and if everything works out, they will finally have their quarterback back in the starting lineup.