Report: Utah’s Nate Johnson Likely To Start Against UCLA
Sep 23, 2023, 7:51 AM
SALT LAKE CITY – After strong speculation early in the week that Cam Rising would be cleared for play, ESPN’s Pete Thamel reports Nate Johnson will suit up for No. 11 Utah against No. 22 UCLA.
Things around the building felt very positive about Rising being available this week after starting the year recovering from an ACL surgery.
Sources: Utah’s Nate Johnson will start for the second-straight game at quarterback today against UCLA, as the availability of star QB Cam Rising remains uncertain. Rising is recovering from an ACL tear in the Rose Bowl and has yet to play in 2023 season. https://t.co/y5st3wjGso
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) September 23, 2023
Battle Of The Freshman Quarterbacks?
If there is in fact no Cam Rising for Utah, that means redshirt freshman Nate Johnson will be leading the charge. Johnson recently earned the backup job after leading the Utes from behind against Baylor in Waco and showed some nice things last week in his first collegiate start against Weber State.
On the opposite side of the field, five-star freshman standout Dante Moore will be leading the UCLA Bruins. Moore solidified himself as QB1 for the Bruins in the second half of their season opener with Coastal Carolina and never looked back.
With that in mind, while it is disappointing it sounds like there will be no Rising, there is some fun potential to get a look at the bright future at quarterback in college football. Even if both parties will be going their separate ways moving forward after this season.
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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