The questions surrounding Cam Rising’s plans for next season finally have an answer.
The Utah quarterback will return to Salt Lake City for a seventh year of college football, he announced on social media Sunday.
“One more year,” Rising wrote, paired with a video indicating he will use his final year of eligibility to play at Utah in 2024.
Rising missed the entire 2023 season with a knee injury he suffered in the Rose Bowl.
His status had been the cause for speculation for most of the year. Going into the season, head coach Kyle Whittingham publicly indicated Rising could be ready to play Week 1. But as the season went on, the timeline continued to get pushed back until Rising was ruled out for the year in late October.
Rising revealed that he did not just tear his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). But He also tore his MPFL, meniscus and MCL. It made the recovery more difficult than the standard nine-month timeline for an ACL.
Several weeks ago, Whittingham indicated that Rising could apply for a medical redshirt season and return to the Utes.
But while Rising could get a seventh year if he wanted it, he could also use that final year at another program. Several high-profile schools would be looking for a veteran transfer, including a school like Notre Dame that just went down that route with quarterback Sam Hartman.
Rising’s return gives the Utes a proven talent at quarterback for their first Big 12. The program will be transitioning from the Pac-12 to the Big 12 at the end of this season.
Quarterback was going to be a top priority for the program, particularly with the rotation of quarterbacks it resorted to this year in a 7-4 campaign.
Whittingham and offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig used a mix of former walk-on Bryson Barnes and redshirt freshman Nate Johnson this season. Brandon Rose, the backup quarterback heading into fall camp, was injured in a scrimmage and did not see time.
In Rising’s first four years at Utah, he led the program to back-to-back Pac-12 championships in 2021 and 2022. He accounted for over 6,500 yards and 58 touchdowns.
He was a two-year starter and began his college career at Texas in 2018.