Utah Utes quarterback Cameron Rising has been one of the best quarterbacks in college football over the last two seasons. Rising has led Utah to back-to-back Pac-12 championships and Rose Bowl appearances as the Utes’ QB.
Rising has drawn a fair amount of jokes for his long tenure as a college player. How long has Rising been playing college football at Utah?
Cameron Rising’s Time at Utah
Rising was part of the 2018 recruiting class as the No. 11 pro-style quarterback, per 247Sports. That recruiting class was the same one that had Trevor Lawrence, Justin Fields, Matt Corral, Brock Purdy, and Will Levis, who are all already in the NFL (some for multiple years now).
Rising has been the starter for the Utes for three years (this season would be his fourth, but he has yet to play as of this writing). Rising originally committed to Texas and spent the 2018 season redshirting there before transferring to Utah. Rising also redshirted at Utah in 2019, biding time behind Tyler Huntley. All in all, Rising has spent five years at Utah.
In the COVID-19-shortened 2020 season, Rising beat out Jake Bentley for the starting quarterback job but suffered a season-ending injury in the first quarter of the season opener against USC.
After initially losing the starting quarterback battle in 2021, Rising replaced Charlie Brewer in the second half of the San Diego State game and never looked back. Rising started every game for Utah last season as well before suffering a torn ACL in Utah’s Rose Bowl loss to Penn State.
Rising debated entering the NFL Draft at the end of the 2022 season but elected to return to play for Utah again after suffering the aforementioned injury. Despite these injuries, Rising is still a fan favorite and one of the best quarterbacks in the country. While durability will be a question mark during the NFL Draft process, his ability as a passer and leader won’t be.
As a Ute, Rising has completed 64.1% of his passes for 5,572 yards and 46 touchdowns to 14 interceptions. He has also added 953 yards and 12 touchdowns on the ground throughout his career. He is tied for fifth all-time at Utah in starting quarterback wins at 18, a record he will likely break when he returns this season.
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Utah is 4-0 so far this season. Once Rising returns to the lineup, it’s likely that the Utes will push for a College Football Playoff appearance and their third-straight Pac-12 championship. If that happens, Rising will certainly challenge former No. 1 pick Alex Smith as the best quarterback in Utah program history.