Whittingham Discusses How Utah Will Manage Cam Rising, QB1 For Florida
Aug 22, 2023, 12:46 PM
SALT LAKE CITY – Utah football is just a little over a week away from hosting the Florida Gators and still has questions about starting quarterback Cam Rising’s availability and who may start in the event of his absence.
Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham addressed the topic in this week’s lone media availability noting the Utes are still day-by-day on making a final decision about Rising and the QB1 position for game one.
Earlier in his availability, Whittingham went over Rising, Bryson Barnes and Nate Johnson’s progressions and current availability, while later one he went into some depth about how Utah will manage the situation with about a week till kickoff.
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How Will Utah Manage Cam Rising, QB1 For Florida?
Whittingham indicated Utah will draw out a decision on who will start at quarterback against Florida for a long as possible, throwing a reference to last year’s game against Washington State when Rising pulled himself out of the lineup for Bryson Barnes with about 40 minutes to kickoff.
“Yeah, there will be a cutoff date,” Whittingham said. “Probably 10 minutes before kickoff. If he’s not ready to go then we will go with Plan B.”
This isn’t the first or likely the last time Whittingham and the Utes have or will keep a key player’s status for a game under wraps. Whittingham said he doesn’t know for sure if it gives them an advantage, but until everyone is required to report on player statuses, he doesn’t plan to until the ball is in the air.
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“I don’t know if it is,” Whittingham said. “We’re keeping things somewhat close to the vest just because, but I don’t know if in the final analysis if it’s a big deal or not, but we are truly unsettled right now. There really is no deception at this point, we’re just seeing how things progress day-by-day.”
Ideally, The Utes Want Their “Leader Of The Leaders”
If Rising isn’t able to go, the Utes will likely be fine with one of the backups- especially given the amount of returning talent available in other places that can help take some stress off the quarterback. However, that also isn’t to discount Rising’s impact on Utah football either.
“Huge impact,” Whittingham said. “He’s our leader. He’s the leader of the football team- the leader of the leaders as we’ve said many times before and he’s a guy that affects everybody around him. Everyone looks to him and he sets the bar and demands everyone lives up to that expectation.”
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Tell us what you think in the comments. Will Cam Rising play against Florida?
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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