Cam Rising will be brushing shoulders with the best QBs in college football this summer
Cam Rising may still be recovering from offseason surgery to repair a torn ACL, but that won’t prevent him from attending the Manning Passing Academy for the second straight year.
Per NOLA.com, Rising will be among the attendees at this year’s academy June 22-25 at Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, Louisiana.
Rising is still in the recovery stage following surgery, with Utah coach Kyle Whittingham telling On3 Sports in April that Rising was “about a third of the way through ACL rehab, and doing very well and on schedule, and we fully expect him to be ready for our season opener against Florida.”
The Manning Passing Academy attracts the top quarterbacks in college football each summer to serve as counselors for the junior high and high school quarterbacks who attend the practices, film sessions and lectures and allows all in attendance to work closely with Arch Manning and his sons Cooper, Peyton and Eli.
The highlight of the camp each year is the “Friday Night Lights” skills competition, which sees the college football quarterbacks in attendance compete in a series of drills to gauge accuracy, arm strength and route throwing versatility, per NOLA.com.
The college football quarterbacks expected to attend this year are a who’s who of QBs, with USC quarterback Caleb Williams standing perhaps as the most notable omission, due to a scheduling conflict.
Expected first-round NFL draft pick Drake Maye (North Carolina) will be among the attendees, as well as recognizable names like Arch Manning and Quinn Ewers (Texas), Shedeur Sanders (Colorado), Devin Leary (Kentucky), Joe Milton (Tennessee), Jordan Travis (Florida State), Jayden Daniels (LSU), Michael Penix Jr. (Washington) and Jaxson Dart (Ole Miss).
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The Pac-12 will be represented by seven quarterbacks, including Rising, Sanders and Penix Jr., but also Cameron Ward (Washington State), Ty Thompson (Oregon), Drew Pyne (Arizona State) and Jayden de Laura (Arizona).
Rising is the engine that makes the Utes go, Whittingham told reporters during spring camp. He is one of the chief reasons Utah is back-to-back Pac-12 champions.
“He’s out there every practice and mentoring and tutoring these young quarterbacks,” Whittingham said. “And (he’s) in the meeting room. I mean he’s doing everything but taking reps on the field and, and he’s the type of guy that has such a powerful presence. He’s a leader even when he’s not suited up. I mean, he’s the guy that everyone looks up to.”
He is also a projected 2024 NFL draft pick or at least in the running to hear his name called, per ESPN.
ESPN staff writer Jordan Reed examined the pro potential and draft prospects of 26 college quarterbacks, with Rising among them.
Of the Utes’ signal caller, Reed noted, “At 6-foot-2 and 218 pounds, Rising was the catalyst of the Utes’ 2022 attack. He finished with 3,034 passing yards, 26 touchdown throws and eight interceptions.
“Rising is an urgent decision-maker who knows how to use the middle of the field since the Utah scheme frequently involves 11 and 12 personnel sets. He incorporates play-action concepts from under center and the shotgun, and he has been exposed to the NFL-level reads. Rising is a gamer but lacks arm strength and must continue to show that he has next-level traits.”
NFL Draft Buzz, meanwhile, rates Rising the 51st best NFL quarterback prospect entering the 2023 college football season and the 543rd best overall pro prospect in college football.
Per NFL Draft Buzz, Rising boasts some clear strengths, including his ability to run well in the read-option, a tendency to extend plays, toughness in the pocket and a good, albeit not great throwing arm. Instincts and accuracy were also positives for Rising.
On the weakness side of things, the outlet notes that Rising has shown a predilection for being loose with the ball when he runs, has been slow working through his progressions and doesn’t have the best throwing motion when he is on the move.
Rising perhaps isn’t the most notable name attending the Manning Passing Academy this year, but his attendance is a positive reflection on both him and the Utah program.
“I’ve had more requests to attend the camp than I’ve ever had,” Arch Manning, the academy’s executive director and co-founder, told NOLA.com. “I wish I could invite them all. We’ll never have a shortage of quarterbacks.”
CFB quarterbacks attending Manning Passing Academy
Drew Allar, Penn State.
Luke Altmyer, Illinois.
Carter Bradley, South Alabama.
Michael Brescia, Colgate.
Doug Brumfield, UNLV.
Hudson Card, Purdue.
Brady Cook, Missouri.
Myles Crawley, Grambling.
Jayden Daniels, LSU.
Jaxson Dart, Ole Miss.
Jayden de Laura, Arizona.
Quinn Ewers, Texas.
DeQuan Finn, Toledo.
Mason Garcia, East Carolina.
Frank Harris, Texas-San Antonio.
Layne Hatcher, Ball State.
Michael Hiers, Samford.
Seth Henigan, Memphis.
Nick Howard, Dartmouth.
Devin Leary, Kentucky.
Riley Leonard, Duke.
Arch Manning, Texas.
Drake Maye, North Carolina.
Grayson McCall, Coastal Carolina.
Parker McKinley, Eastern Kentucky.
Pat McQuaide, Nicholls State.
Joe Milton, Tennessee.
Emmett Morehead, Boston College.
Chandler Morris, Texas Christian.
Garrett Nussmeier, LSU.
Michael Penix, Washington.
John Rhys Plumlee, Central Florida.
Michael Pratt, Tulane.
Drew Pyne, Arizona State.
Austin Reed, Western Kentucky.
Cameron Rising, Utah.
Will Rogers, Mississippi State.
Shedeur Sanders, Colorado.
Eli Sawyer, Southeastern Louisiana.
Liam Thompson, Wabash.
Ty Thompson, Oregon.
Jordan Travis, Florida State.
Tyler Van Dyke, Miami.
Cameron Ward, Washington State.
Ben Wooldridge, UL.
