Whitt Speaks On Team Health, Brandon Rose Injury, Utah Quarterback Depth
Aug 15, 2023, 12:47 PM | Updated: Aug 16, 2023, 11:18 am
SALT LAKE CITY – The Utes received some bad news concerning their quarterback depth on Friday and Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham spoke on it further Tuesday after practice.
A relative of Brandon Rose, who has been competing for the backup job with the Utes this season, posted on Instagram that Rose was home and doing well after being in the hospital. The accident is believed to have taken place during last Thursday’s live scrimmage.
Rose’s status for Utah for the 2023 season is in question for the time being, leaving Bryson Barnes, Nate Johnson, and Mack Howard as potential backups in the event starter Cam Rising isn’t good to go or gets hurt during the season.
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Kyle Whittingham Gives Updates on Brandon Rose Injury, Overall Team Health
Utah football has a policy in place that they don’t discuss injuries in depth unless they are season ending. Whittingham addressed the media for the first time on Tuesday since the accident and had the below to say.
“We don’t do any injury reports,” Whittingham said. “I will say that we are a little bit beat up right now as a team which you would expect 14 days in. We’re over the halfway point- 11 practices to go and so hopefully we’ll get guys back, but camp is physical. That’s how it always is. Nothing different this year. We are little bit beat up but hope to see some guys work their way back into the mix and start taking reps again.”
As for starting quarterback Cam Rising’s status along with tight end Brant Kuithe, Whittingham quickly said there was no change in their status and then gave the rundown of the current quarterback depth.
“Bryson Barnes is taking the majority of reps with the ones,” Whittingham said. “Nate Johnson is taking the majority of the reps with the twos. When Cam is at practice, which is, not every day, but most everyday- he gets a fair share of the ones in certain drills as well.”
Finally, Whittingham declined to talk about whether Rose has even been present at practice since the incident, noting he’ll only talk about Rising’s status.
“No individual updates,” Whittingham said. “Except for Cam- I’ll tell you about that.”
The Utes are just a little over two weeks from kicking off their 2023 season at home against the Florida Gators and will be hoping to get a few more guys back into the mix soon.
Michelle Bodkin is the Utah Utes Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of both the Crimson Corner Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and The Saturday Show (Saturday from 10 a.m.–12 p.m.) on The KSL Sports Zone. Follow her on Twitter, Instagram, and Threads: @BodkinKSLsports
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