Cam Rising wasn’t cleared to return from his ACL injury when fall camp rolled around, so the Utah football team’s quarterback situation became a battle between Bryson Barnes, Nate Johnson, and Brandon Rose.
Then Rose got hurt.
So when the season started, Barnes and Johnson split time. Until Barnes underwhelmed vs. Baylor, and the Utes went with Johnson.
Until Johnson struggled mightily at Oregon State, and Utah went back to Barnes.
Then Barnes got hurt after a few plays, and the Utes finished the game with Johnson.
And throughout it all, the Utes’ offense has failed to gain much traction, particularly in the passing attack. Utah was limited to only 198 total yards in last Friday’s loss against the Beavers.
Utah has seemingly been snakebitten with injuries this season, with multiple projected starters such as Rising, tight end Brant Kuithe, offensive lineman Johnny Maea, and defensive end Connor O’Toole yet to play as they work their way back. Meanwhile, the team has lost defensive end Logan Fano and running back Micah Bernard to season-ending injuries. And it has seen key contributors such as running back Ja’Quinden Jackson, wide receiver Mycah Pittman, defensive end Van Fillinger, defensive tackles Junior Tafuna and Simote Pepa, and linebacker Karene Reid all miss significant time with injuries as well.
Starting left tackle Spencer Fano and backup running back Charlie Vincent are now banged up, too.
Head coach Kyle Whittingham said this week that it’s something he’s never experienced before in his career.
“No, it’s not, as far as losing guys and having to plug in new people, and waiting on your quarterback every week,” he said. “It’s very unique. So we’re just trying to navigate it the best we can.”
The seemingly obvious answer to the QB conundrum and the anemic offense would be the return of Rising, who was injured in the Rose Bowl, had surgery to repair his torn ACL on Jan. 17, and has been a full participant in Utes practices for multiple weeks now.
Except he hasn’t gotten official clearance to play in games yet.
And though Whittingham said several weeks ago that Rising’s return would be entirely based on a medical decision rather than team need or circumstances, it was clear Tuesday that the coach has grown frustrated about the process of getting Rising cleared.
When asked what specifically needs to happen now for Rising to play, the coach gave a clipped response: “You’d have to ask his doctor.”
When asked to clarify if it is one singular doctor or several working together to make a final decision, Whittingham broke out his best Spanish: “Uno doctors. One doctor.”
His frustration is partly attributable to that doctor actually having final say on a second key Ute’s availability.
Asked if he expected to see Kuithe in action this season, as the tight end rebounds from an ACL surgery suffered early in the 2022 campaign, Whittingham’s annoyance was palpable.
“Boy, I hope so,” he said. “Again, that’s the same uno doctor that we’re waiting on with Cam, we’re waiting on with Brant.”
That doctor would be Neal ElAttrache.
ElAttrache is a famed orthopedic surgeon specializing in sports medicine at the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles. ElAttrache is also the head team physician for MLB’s Los Angeles Dodgers and the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams. He is an orthopedic consultant to the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks, and the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers.
Though the doctor’s credentials are impeccable, it seems Whittingham is chafing a bit at getting a first-hand look at his players in person every day, only to have a brief, cross-country consultation be the deciding factor on their availability.
Asked again if this was something he’d encountered before, the coach gave a similar response.
“Nope. [This is] very, very unique and the first time around,” he said.
Honestly, much of Whittingham’s irritability about the situation is probably attributable to simply not being sure who he has available at this point. Asked how Barnes was doing, the coach noted that the backup was not available at that practice, and that the team is “hoping for the best.”
If Rising is cleared to play against Cal, the Utes’ QB depth chart becomes pretty straightforward — he will start, and Johnson will be the backup.
Failing that, Johnson will start again, but the situation behind him is murky.
“Backup to be determined,” said Whittingham. “Obviously Nate would be the guy. But the backup, we’re getting down [in numbers] — we’ve got Brandon Rose and Luke Bottari left to fill the backup. It’ll be one of those two guys.”
Given that the coach said pretty recently that Rose’s injury situation likely had made 2023 a lost season for him, suddenly listing him as a potential backup is quite the about-face.
And indeed, Whittingham said it would be his preference to redshirt Rose at this point, and he’s still hoping to do so, but, “He may have to [be the backup], due to not having anyone available.”
The extreme emergency fallback plan, then, would be Bottari, a 5-foot-10, 205-pound senior who has not seen a meaningful snap since transferring from the College of San Mateo following the 2021 season.
Could another week of splitting practice reps between Rising and Johnson be detrimental, though, if there isn’t immediate clarity?
Some have wondered if having those two each get 50% of the reps when it’s not certain if Rising will even be cleared is only serving to keep Johnson from getting the extra work he needs to improve as a passer.
Whittingham shot down that theory, saying the only QB who hasn’t gotten enough reps lately was Barnes.
The Utes are hoping to get injured players back across the roster, though Whittingham said he likely won’t have a good sense of who’s available or not until early next week.
Still, there’s no getting around needing some resolution at quarterback.
And the coach said he needs it sooner rather than later, just for the sake of having enough time to put in a more detailed plan, to hopefully get the ball moving.
“You don’t completely overhaul things but tweak things and try to figure out what your best call sheet is for the quarterback that’s going to be playing,” said Whittingham. “We hope to know early next week, rather than later, what the situation is. I think one of the problems is we’ve been waiting ‘til the end of the week.”
And the Utes can ill afford to wait any more.
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