Utah football is officially losing quarterback Cam Rising. Rising is not expected to return to the team in 2025, per KSL Sports. The quarterback spent five years in Utah, going all the way back to the 2020 season.
Rising didn't play in 2023 due to an injury, and his 2024 season was also cut short due to injuries.
“I’ve talked to Cam a few times, but that is really up to Cam to divulge (his plan), when he wants to divulge what his plan is,” Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said. “We’ve certainly had communication and you don’t see him on the roster right now, so that should tell you some things there.”
Utah had a very frustrating 2024 season without their starting quarterback. Despite getting picked in the preseason at the top of the Big 12 Conference, the Utes finished the campaign with a losing record. Utah went 5-7 overall, and just 2-7 in the conference.
Rising finishes his career at Utah with 6,127 passing yards. It's unclear at time of writing if he will try to transfer to another college program, or head to the NFL Draft.
Utah football is looking for Big 12 success
The Utes had a disaster of a season in their first Big 12 campaign. Utah football joined Arizona, Arizona State and Colorado to join the league before the 2024 season.
Utah managed to win conference games against only Oklahoma State and UCF. In truly bizarre fashion, Utah collapsed after a 4-0 start to the year. The team lost seven of their final eight games.
Losing Rising likely contributed to that collapse. The veteran quarterback dealt with several injuries that required him to have surgery. He finished the season with just 555 passing yards, seven touchdowns and three interceptions.
The Utes must now find their next quarterback and move on. It won't be easy to replace Rising, but Utah football does have a few players willing to take the job. One of those play callers is Devon Dampier. Dampier is transferring in from New Mexico, where he threw for 3,293 yards.
Utah also has a new offensive coordinator in Jason Beck. There's definitely change in the air for the school, and fans will get to see that change starting in August. Utah football opens their season then against UCLA.