Cam Rising, Brant Kuithe Waiting On Approval To Play From Same Doctor
Oct 3, 2023, 7:11 PM
SALT LAKE CITY – Utah football has been waiting for approval from the same doctor for starting quarterback Cam Rising and tight end Brant Kuithe to return to play.
The process has taken longer than anyone expected, and it’s not exactly known what the doctor is looking for in order to give final clearance to play for the Utes’ star players.
Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham was asked where things stand for Rising and Kuithe during his lone availability of the Utes’ BYE week.
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Rising, Kuithe Still Expected To Play At Some Point This Season According To Whittingham
By all accounts, Rising has been expected back sooner than Kuithe, and has been right on the edge of getting the go-ahead the past two or three weeks.
However, last minute (at least it feels so to us on the outside) Utah has ended up going with Nate Johnson. Whittingham indicated during Tuesday’s availability that the hold up on Rising is with one doctor.
“You’d have to ask his doctor,” Whittingham said.
Whittingham reiterated the point a little later.
“Uno doctors,” Whittingham said. “One doctor. Uno.”
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There has also been a rash of rumors as of late that Kuithe may never take the field for the Utes at this point. Whittingham obviously didn’t divulge too much about it, but indicated Utah is still holding out hope he takes the field, and that the holdup is with the same doctor as Rising.
“Boy, I hope so,” Whittingham said. “That’s the same uno doctor- the one we are waiting on for Cam, we’re waiting on for Brant.”
Whittingham also indicated this is the first time in his career where he’s had to wait for clearance for multiple players from the same doctor.
“Nope,” Whittingham said. “Very unique and the first time around.”
Utah Football Injury Update
As we all should know by now, Utah does not divulge much when it comes to injuries and the availability of players outside of season ending injuries.
Anyone with eyes saw Utah players dropping like flies against Oregon State in last week’s Friday loss to the Beavers. Defensive end Logan Fano announced his season is over due to a torn ACL suffered in that game earlier this week and Whittingham said as of right now they are still waiting on the prognosis for several other players good or bad this week.
GO UTES BOIIIII! 👌🏽❤️ pic.twitter.com/gpiE87m1YR
— Logan Fano (@LoganFano) October 2, 2023
“We had a bunch of guys banged up,” Whittingham said. “We’ll see who we get back, but the BYE week is hopefully going to help us get some of those guys back. Too early to tell right now. We’ll have to wait until at least the end of this week, probably the beginning of next week.”
More Details About The Health Of The Quarterback Room
Another player who most expect to be done for the season, though no official announcement has been made as of now is quarterback Bryson Barnes. Barnes took a massive hit in Friday’s game that sent him to the hospital in Corvallis, but media later learned he was able to return to Salt Lake City with the team that night. However, it doesn’t sound like he’s exactly out of the woods yet.
“He’s not out here today,” Whittingham said. “We’re just hoping for the best.”
With Barnes’ status currently in doubt, and uncertainty about when Rising will be able to make his return, Utah’s quarterback room is looking thin these days and Whittingham didn’t pull any punches about it.
Just sick hearing this. Injuries are never fun. Utah’s had too many of them and adding that level of injury where guys end up in the hospital is demoralizing.
Best wishes to Barnes, Fano, Vincent and everyone else. Heart is definitely with them for speedy recoveries.#Utes https://t.co/CQtl2jzGc4
— Michelle Bodkin (@BodkinKSLsports) September 30, 2023
“Backup to be determined,” Whittingham said. “Nate obviously will be the guy, but the backup would be- we’ve got Brandon Rose and Luke Bottari to fill the backup role. It will be one of those two guys.”
“He may have to,” Whittingham said. “Due to not having anyone available. We’re trying to redshirt him which we still can with four games. He’s got plenty of cushion there for us. We’ll just have to see who is available on Monday.”
Finally, Whittingham admitted the Utes have maybe gone about figuring out the quarterback situation a little backwards which has led to some of the inconsistencies on offense. That will apparently change starting next against Cal.
“We hope to know early next week rather than later,” Whittingham said. “I think one of the problems is, we’ve been waiting till the end of the week. Rather than waiting, we’re going to get an answer early next week as to who is going to go.”
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 X, Instagram, and Threads: @BodkinKSLsports
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