Utah QB Cameron Rising to return for 7th season of college football in 2024

Utah quarterback Cameron Rising will return for a seventh season of college football in 2024.

Rising announced Sunday that he’ll be back next season after missing all of 2023 with a left knee injury. Rising was injured in Utah’s Rose Bowl loss to Penn State on Jan. 2.

Rising's status for the 2023 was up in the air as the season approached. It remained a mystery until October, when Rising revealed in a radio appearance that he had done more than simply tear his ACL. In addition to his ACL, Rising said he suffered a torn meniscus, torn MPFL and torn MCL.

“It was a big surgery and it’s not an easy comeback,” Rising said.

Approximately two weeks later after Utah beat USC on the road, Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said that Rising would miss the entirety of the season.

Rising emerged as one of the better quarterbacks in college football in 2022. He started 13 games and threw for 3,034 yards and 26 TDs while completing 65% of his passes. He also rushed for six touchdowns as the Utes won their second consecutive Pac-12 title and beat USC twice.

Bryson Barnes and Nate Johnson have been Utah’s quarterbacks in 2023 in Rising’s absence. The Utes are 7-4 ahead of their final game of the season against Colorado and have been eliminated from Pac-12 title contention. The offense has struggled without Rising; Utah averages less than 25 points per game and ranks 86th in the country in points per game.

Rising was a member of the high school class of 2018 and was in the same class as Trevor Lawrence, Justin Fields and Dorian Thompson-Robinson. All three players started NFL games in Week 11.

After redshirting for a season at Texas, Rising redshirted in 2019 at Utah. He opened the 2020 season as Utah’s starter but suffered a season-ending shoulder injury less than 20 plays into the first game. After former Baylor QB Charlie Brewer opened the 2021 season as the starter, Rising took over as the top QB following a 1-2 start and led the Utes to a 10-4 season.