Billy Napier's Florida football program is gearing up to start its season against Utah on the road on Thursday, and a report surfaced that Napier and Florida reached out to see if Utah quarterback Cam Rising had any interest in transferring to the program this offseason.

“They wanted Sam Hartman, he was atop their list along with a bunch of other schools, but they at least kicked the tires on Cam Rising if I'm hearing it correctly,” Mark Long of the Associated Press said in an appearance on KSL Sports. “… And then they wanted Michael Pratt out of Tulane. So, they kicked the tires on a bunch of guys hoping they could get a transfer quarterback to come in here and bail them out, and they end up landing [Graham] Mertz.”

This adds an interesting wrinkle to the matchup on Thursday night. Florida and Billy Napier reportedly at least made a phone call to see if Cam Rising was looking to transfer, according to Long.

Instead, Napier and the Florida football program go into their opening game with former Wisconsin quarterback Graham Mertz. Having Graham Mertz as your starter is not the worst situation.

With Rising coming off of a torn ACL from the Rose Bowl loss against Penn State, it is unknown whether or not he will be playing on Thursday.

The game on Thursday will be a big test for both teams. It will be interesting to see how each team looks, as it could be telling for the rest of the season.