Cam Rising’s status for Florida-Utah game determined, per reports
By Andrew Olson
Published:
Cam Rising is doubtful to play for No. 14 Utah on Thursday against Florida. ESPN’s Pete Thamel shared the news on “College Football Live” Wednesday.
Rising would be a significant absence for the Utes. Entering his fifth year, Rising started 13 games for the Utes last season, recording 3,034 yards on 249-of-385 passing (26 TD, 8 INT), while adding 77 rushes for 465 yards and 6 touchdowns. He was particularly effective as a dual-threat quarterback last year against the Gators, going 22-of-32 passing for 216 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception while rushing 7 times for 91 yards.
Without Rising, Utah will reportedly turn to Bryson Barnes as the starting quarterback. A walk-on in 2020, Barnes is entering his fourth season at Utah. He played in 10 games for the Utes last season, going 37-of-57 passing (4 TD, 2 INT) for 430 yards, adding 20 carries for 116 yards. Barnes made his first career start against Washington State last season, going 17-of-27 for 175 yards.
Redshirt freshman Nate Johnson is expected to be used as a change-of-pace QB for the Utes, per Thamel. In 2022, Johnson saw limited action in 4 games. A former 3-star recruit out of California, Johnson finished with a 16-yard TD completion and 5 carries for 51 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Earlier Wednesday, the Utah Checkdwon podcast also reported that Barnes was the expected starter. Thursday’s game is set for 8 p.m. ET, airing on ESPN.
There will be a new Utah Checkdown podcast coming this afternoon from me and @JFurKSL.
No. 1 topic of discussion: The expectation at this point is that Bryson Barnes, sources confirm, will start the opener vs. Florida.
There is plenty of context to clarify, so come through
— Josh Newman (@Joshua_Newman) August 30, 2023
Consistent with what we’ve been hearing https://t.co/k6gYGxUNFs
— Josh Furlong (@JFurKSL) August 30, 2023
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaign of Fred Taylor.
