SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4 Sports) – Coming off a disappointing 23-10 loss to Arizona last week, Utah’s offensive problems were exposed, especially in the passing game.
Cam Rising has missed the last three and half games with injured fingers on his throwing hand against Baylor, and Utes fans have been getting critical of his absence on social media. Head coach Kyle Whittingham, who said Rising was “really close” to playing against Arizona, said he hopes Rising will return against Arizona State.
Utes offense struggles in 23-10 loss to Arizona
“Cam Rising wants to play worse than anybody,” Whittingham said Tuesday. “When he’s able to, he will. It’s not like he’s been able to play and not going. That’s not the case. I’m not sure what you mean when they say he’s ‘taking heat.’ I don’t I never on social media, so I don’t know anything that’s going on there. I don’t know where that’s coming from. But I can tell you for certain that he wants to play and as soon as he gets the go ahead, he will play. And we hope it’s this next game.
Kyle Whittingham talks about Cam Rising’s injury situation and the “heat” Rising is taking on social media. pic.twitter.com/wnzHruPJdu
— Dana Greene (@dana_greene) October 2, 2024
The Utes just aren’t the same team without Rising, so Whittingham recognizes the urgency to get him back as soon as possible.
“He’s one of the best quarterbacks in the country,” he said. “It’s a quarterback driven game. It’s the most important position on the field and it’s not even close. So if you’ve got an elite quarterback like Cam Rising, yeah, that definitely helps to get him back on the field. It’ll give us a big boost.”…