What to know about Utah quarterback Cam Rising’s status — and the battle for QB2

Utah quarterback Cameron Rising’s status this week is the same as last week, coach Kyle Whittingham said as the Utes entered their second week of fall camp.

After tearing his ACL in Utah’s Rose Bowl loss in January, Rising has been a “limited participant” in fall practice. He’s throwing and working on mechanics — he said that he is changing his throwing motion a little bit to get more shoulder mobility, leading to more velocity and distance on his throws — but isn’t going to be put in a position where he has to react to defenders or make any quick movements with his feet.

Nothing has changed in regards to that limited participant status as we close in on 22 days until Utah’s home opener against Florida. Rising will continue to be limited until doctors tell Utah’s staff that he’s ready to progress.

The senior quarterback, entering his fourth season at Utah, says he’s “feeling as normal as I’ve been in a while, so that’s just a positive right there.”

On Tuesday, Whittingham said that if Rising is still not ready to go by a week to the Florida game, Whittingham will “have to make some decisions.”

“Cam knows the offense inside out and there’s not really any learning curve. It’s just physically being ready,” Whittingham said.

Utah’s first scrimmage is on Thursday, and Whittingham hopes to have a pecking order at backup quarterback by Monday.

Brandon Rose, the three-star redshirt freshman quarterback from Temecula, California, took the lead on the backup quarterback job after spring ball, which culminated in a 19 for 24, 233 yards and a touchdown showing in Utah’s spring game.

Last week, Whittingham said that Rose was taking the QB2 reps and the QB1 reps that Rising couldn’t participate in. On Tuesday, he noted that junior quarterback Bryson Barnes — who’s been in competition with Rose and redshirt freshman Nate Johnson — has been making less mistakes than the other two.

“He was just making less mistakes,” Whittingham said. “He knows the offense better than the other two. He’s a little more consistent and more steady. The other two guys have bright futures, can make some spectacular plays here and there, but it’s all about taking care of the football and moving the chains.”

Barnes beat out both Rose and Johnson for the backup job last season, and though it was expected after spring that one of Rose or Johnson would emerge as QB2 in 2023, it’s clear that Barnes is not to be counted out.

Last year, he helped the Utes beat Washington State with Rising out. Barnes was 17 for 27 and threw for 175 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions. But when he was thrust into the Rose Bowl again after Rising’s injury in the third quarter, a place where he shined in 2022 in a similar situation, Barnes couldn’t guide the Utes to a win, passing for 175 yards and throwing a touchdown and an interception in Utah’s 35-21 loss to Penn State.

Related

• Kyle Whittingham ‘excited’ about Big 12, but focus is fully on upcoming Pac-12 season

• Why safety Cole Bishop could be the next great Utah defender

• Led by 3 returning starters, Utah’s offensive line should be a strong point

Barnes said on Tuesday that the game is slowing down for him.

“... Just take what the defense is giving you. Don’t overanalyze anything,” he said. “Just go through your reads, one, two, three or whatever the reads may be, and just trusting what the offense is doing against the defense and what the defense is showing you.”

If he is chosen to be the backup quarterback and Rising isn’t able to go for the Florida contest — two big assumptions — it would be a totally different situation than any of his previous appearances, where Barnes was subbed in hastily.

“It’s got to be the same thing you prepare for as a backup,” Barnes said of the mindset if he is called upon to start. “You plan, you game plan, you go through the game plan, we got our plays we’re going to run, and you just got to trust in the offense, trust in the coaching staff and the positions they’re going to put you in against their defense.”

Rose, who says that the quarterback room pushes each other to be better every single day, has seen himself improve from the spring to the fall.

“... Just being comfortable back there, trusting the system, trusting my coaches, trusting my training, and then just having that translate onto the field in live work and in certain situational football,” Rose said.

Johnson, who saw action in four games in 2022 — mostly running the ball, though he did throw a 16-yard touchdown pass against Stanford — has tried to improve his accuracy over the break.

“Coming back from my hamstring strain, really just trying to improve my accuracy. That’s been my biggest thing here since spring and fall camp,” Johnson said.

Nine practices in, the separation hasn’t occurred for Whittingham to name a QB2, so the battle continues.

“There’s trust in all three of those guys, it’s just how are they going to separate themselves and that will come with the next six practices or so,” Whittingham said.