Estimated read time: 5-6 minutes
SALT LAKE CITY β Call it PTSD or whatever you'd like, but the 2023 season just won't quit for the Utah football team.
Just reading that probably sent shivers down your spine.
Yes, we're in 2024, but it's starting to feel like the 2023 season all over again β at least in one big way. Utah is suddenly back to the waiting game to see if starting quarterback Cam Rising will return to the field anytime soon.
Is it this week against Utah State? What about Oklahoma State? Maybe he'll be back before the UCLA game (that's for the ones who want to go back and suffer through the 2023 season drama again).
This much is clear: Rising suffered an injury to his throwing hand that Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham declared as "not real serious." But the long time head coach isn't tipping his hand on what that means for the future.
Sound familiar?
Because it's not a season-ending injury for Rising β that should come at least as some sigh of relief β Whittingham will not be discussing the matter further.
"As far as an update, again, reminder we don't give any injury updates unless they're season-ending, and so we won't say who's going to play quarterback, even when we know; it's just not how we do it," Whittingham said Monday. "So we'll see what happens. But other than Cam going out, we seemed to stay fairly healthy in that game, and looking forward to going up to Logan."
That last line is a good sign, but Rising β for all intents and purposes β is all that matters to Utah football right now.
As evidenced by how quickly the energy was "deflated," as Whittingham described it, at Rice-Eccles Stadium when Rising went out of the game, Utah relies heavily on his health to keep them in a position for a potential playoff bid.
It's why Whittingham said "there are no concerns at all" when Rising is in the game, but outside of that there are questions.
Utah has twice entrusted the state of the offense to an 18-year-old quarterback this season who is still new in the system and learning what it takes to play at the collegiate level.
To that point, Whittingham is certain β almost defiant at times β that Isaac Wilson is the guy they trust the most to take over in Rising's absence, even if he needs more reps and more experience.
Based on the hierarchy of the quarterback room, Whittingham said, there's really no question that it's Wilson to take over duties.
The former Corner Canyon star quarterback is the guy to get the start should Rising not be available Saturday β his first career start β and one that would have the game plan tailored around his skill set.
If he's the starter, he'll get the majority of the reps this the week, which will be far more beneficial to his game than what he's experienced in mostly clean-up duty so far.
"When you split the reps in practice between the ones and the twos, it's not 50/50, it's like 80/20 or 70/30," Whittingham said of the composition. "You get the one guy, the first guy, tuned up completely, and get as many reps for the second guy as you can. I think one thing that would definitely help Isaac is if he got those 80% or 70% of the reps all week long. I know he'd be more advanced, also just more experienced.
"He's been in a total of what one game of college football now β half last week, half this past week β and so I think he's going to continue to get better," he added. "We certainly believe that, and we have a lot of confidence in him. It's just he's not ready to go out and throw the ball 45 times against, especially a team like Baylor. In his development, he's not quite there yet."
The making of a QB: An inside look into who Isaac Wilson is and what drives him
It's the type of make up that defines who Isaac Wilson is at his core. He's a competitor that isn't prone to dwell on the past as he looks to the future.He may not be there yet fully, but the coaching staff believes he has the skill set to lead the offense efficiently and effectively. And while some of that will come through his passing game, Wilson opens up a different dynamic with his legs that Whittingham said would likely be a factor in his game plan.
It's a game plan, Whittingham said, that will be very similar to what Rising was running β if Wilson is the starter, that is.
"If we feel that he's not ready to go and Isaac is getting the lion's share of the reps in practice, then he'd have just about the entire game plan at his disposal," Whittingham said. "And so that's to be determined, but that's how it would be determined if he ends up being the guy."
For Wilson, he's approaching the game as if he's QB1, but that's no different than any other week, he said.
"I've got to prepare the same every week if I'm the first, second or third string," Wilson said. "I've gotta come into this game like I'm the starter 100% of the time and just gotta prepare. I mean, I could have prepared a little better last game. I felt like I did good, but always more to improve on.
"Reps matter," he added. "Game reps matter, and just managing the game. I've got to be a game manager. I mean, I'm going to have those opportunities to score, but I want to be game manager first."
That game manager element is what Whittingham was most pleased with in Utah's win against Baylor on Saturday. The offense mostly went into preservation mode β play not to lose, essentially β and kept the game plan fairly vanilla.
Wilson managed the plan well, didn't have a turnover, and led Utah on a drive that drained a significant portion of the clock late in the game. If he's the starter on Saturday, he'll have to be more involved in the offense β by design β but there's optimism he's ready for the task.
Rising would still be the preferred option, but Wilson showed in fall camp that he has the talent and ability to lead Utah to victory. Now it just has to show up during a game as he becomes more comfortable with the collegiate speed.
"I'm getting pretty comfortable with it," Wilson said of the offense. "It's getting simple to me. Like I was saying earlier, a while ago it was complex, but I'm getting over that hill, and it's getting simple, and I think everything's just calming down, and it's going to be great."
