Isaac Wilson, Brandon Rose In Renewed Quarterback Battle?
Oct 27, 2024, 7:02 AM | Updated: Oct 28, 2024, 2:56 pm
SALT LAKE CITY – Utah Football coach Kyle Whittingham made a change at quarterback in the second half of the Houston game.
After two and a half quarters with Isaac Wilson at the helm, Whittingham thought of giving Brandon Rose a chance to possibly ignite some momentum on offense.
“We were trying to get a spark, trying to create something,” Whittingham said in the post-game presser. “We’d only scored one touchdown and we didn’t seem to be gaining momentum, so we figured it was time to give Brandon an opportunity.”
Isaac Wilson, Brandon Rose Each Got Some Run
Each quarterback was able to get the offense into the end zone one time. Wilson had the better stat line while battling through some ups and downs throughout the game. He finished the game 13-of-22 for 171 yards and one touchdown.
Rose came in and though not as efficient, he kept the chains moving on a couple of possessions. Rose ended up throwing the interception, which allowed Houston to score the game-winning field goal. He ended his night 7-of-15 for 45 yards and the one interception.
“We’ll grade the film and there’s a good body of work from each guy,” Whittingham shared. “Of course, Isaac has a much bigger body of work from this season. We’ll see how Rose did with his reads and what he did with the opportunities that he had and then make a decision on which one of them we’re going to go with.”
As the team enters the month of November and its most difficult portion of the schedule, it seems Utah has a renewed quarterback battle on its hands.
“I’m not saying Isaac has lost his job, but everybody has to play to a certain standard and the quarterback position is no different, so we’ll take a long look at that,” Whittingham said.
RELATED: Utah Football Releases Statement On Cam Rising Injury, Collegiate Eligibility
Mike Bajakian Up After Andy Ludwig Stepped Down
Since Utah lost its star quarterback, the offense has been out of sorts. There have been encouraging stretches of play from the offense but struggles have mounted over time.
It’s not to say that the offense is the reason for Utah’s four-game losing skid but the struggles have played a big role. So much so that offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig stepped down from his position—of his own volition, after last week’s 13-7 loss.
In his place, Whittingham named analyst/quarterbacks coach Mike Bajakian to offensive coordinator.
“He did some good things, he was put in a tough spot, we didn’t think he was going to create a miracle in five days on the job,” Whittingham said in his assessment of the interim OC. “I thought we added some things to the offense that were helpful. The touchdown to Kuithe on the second play of the game was an addition. I think there were some good and bad elements to the offense. We still came away with about 300 yards and only 12 first downs, so the end result is still not what we need it to be.”
What Happened To Cam Rising?
Rising has dealt with injury for much of his college football career. He missed the entirety of last season due to a knee injury.
This season, he injured his throwing hand in the team’s game against the Baylor Bears.
