Suddenly, the Utah Utes have surpassed their expected "worst-case scenario."
All season long, quarterback issues have sat at the forefront of coach Kyle Whittingham's squad. Whether it was which player was going to make the start, or how long one specific passer would be out, there has been seemingly no escape as far as a steady quarterback goes. First, it was Brandon Rose.
Rose suffered an injury during a Utes scrimmage prior to the start of the regular season, and while it wasn't initially assumed to be a long-term injury, that soon became clearer. With his absence, Nate Johnson and Bryson Barnes were left to battle it out for Utah's interim starting position. Except, they never did.
Whittingham liked what he saw from both quarterbacks intermittently, but neither of the two were ever fully in as the Utes' starter, despite multiple weeks of football. Still, the Utes trekked on and rode an undefeated record until Week 5, when they suffered their first loss to Oregon State.
And all of this was still without Cameron Rising.
Rising, who hasn't seen any game action this season after his injury on Jan. 2 of last season, has been expected to return for weeks now. He even suited up for the Utes to get some pre-game throws in prior to Utah's matchup against UCLA, but still, no snaps.
Part of the senior's holdout came because his injury, which was at first believed to be just an ACL tear, turned out to be much more than that.
"I wasn't really expecting to do this, but I just want to let everybody know I didn't just tear my ACL," Rising said. "I tore my meniscus, MPFL, and MCL. It was a big surgery and it's not an easy comeback. I've been working my tail off."
No matter how hard he works, however, he can't control how well his leg has — or hasn't — healed. That's what's kept him out of games for longer than originally anticipated, and what might continue to keep him out. But that isn't the worst of it.
Entering Week 8, the Utes only have five games remaining. In order to qualify for a redshirt, Rising would have had to play just four games or fewer to start the season — but given how late those games might come, the Utes now have a new solution to consider: should Rising come back at all?
The situation has only declined since the beginning of the season. First, Rising was only going to miss a couple of games. Then, Nate Johnson's rise to consistency bought Utah some time while Rising fully healed longer than the first couple of games and now, he might not even come back.
Rising does have eligibility remaining, so if he were to be redshirted, he'd be able to return next season — consequentially, during the Utes' inaugural season in the Big-12. A Rising-led Utah Utes squad, while it would have ideally been witnessed again this season, could make a splash in a new conference next season.
And barring anymore "worst-case" scenarios, it's beginning to look like that might be the case. The Utes' quarterback clock is ticking. Whittingham may not admit it, but it is.
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