Rising above injury: The journey that's shaped Cam Rising's push to get back on the field

SALT LAKE CITY — With 8:44 to play in the third quarter of the Rose Bowl on Jan. 2, Cam Rising took a third-and-7 snap out of the shotgun at his own 28-yard line.

The University of Utah quarterback was flushed out of the pocket almost immediately, so he tucked the ball away and took off diagonally to his left. As he crossed the 35-yard line to pick up the first down, Rising appeared to step awkwardly with his left leg. He went down at the 37 after being tackled, was helped to his feet by tight end Thomas Yassmin and center Paul Maile, then almost immediately went back to the ground.

Rising was helped up and off the field by Utes medical personnel before being brought to the injury tent. Near the Utah tunnel, Rising's father, Nicko, had not seen the play before being alerted by one of his other sons, Tyson, as to what was happening. As the scene unfolded, Rising eventually made his way to the tunnel for further examination.

Before disappearing, as he passed his father at his seat near the tunnel, he indicated the problem was with his knee, making it two Rose Bowl appearances in a row Rising left in the second half due to injury. Early in the fourth quarter of the 2022 Rose Bowl against Ohio State, he exited with a concussion.

"You hate to see your guys get injured, obviously, and that's the worst part of the game for me," Utes head coach Kyle Whittingham told KSL.com. "The worst part of the job is seeing your players get injured, but I just felt so bad for Cam to have that happen to him two years in a row on the biggest stage that we've played on. It's part of the game, there's inherent risk, obviously. He gets it, he didn't dwell on it, but yeah, it was unfortunate and hard to see that happened two years in a row."

The knee injury marked the end of Rising's fifth-year junior season, but not the end of his college career. Initially believed to be leaving school, Rising told KSL.com earlier this week that he decided a few weeks before the Rose Bowl to return, some combination of significant NIL opportunities, draft stock, and unfinished business helping fuel the decision.

Since taking over as the unquestioned starting quarterback four games into the 2021 season, Rising has had a profound effect on Utah football and the community. His legacy is unquestioned, having led Utah to a pair of Pac-12 championships and subsequent Rose Bowl appearances, while acting as the face of Whittingham's program at a point where on-field accomplishments have never been better or more visible.

But to say his legacy is set in stone would be inaccurate. Rising, after all, signed up for more this fall. More, meaning he believes he has more to give, more things to accomplish, more signature moments to author, maybe even more opportunities to steer the Utes through uncharted waters.

In the eight months since the knee injury, Nicko Rising says he will joke with his family that, after two season-ending injuries to Cam, they're done with the Rose Bowl, but of course, that's not true. The Risings, Whittingham, and everyone in between will gladly take a third Rose Bowl because this season, that would mean a spot in a College Football Playoff semifinal.

"Maybe he can get back there this year, right the wrongs, and go out on top," Nicko Rising told KSL.com.

Another rehab process

Rising is not expected to play Thursday night when the 14th-ranked Utes host the University of Florida. Eight months ago, his sitting Thursday night was an obvious possibility.

By the time the Rose Bowl ended and an initial diagnosis on Rising had been given, his father had a familiar feeling where all of it was going. When can Cam return? How soon can things start happening? Can he beat the Aug. 31 timeline to play against the Gators?

This was not the family's first foray into the rehab process. Nearly 26 months prior, Rising suffered a season-ending shoulder injury on the 14th offensive snap of the 2020 opener vs. USC. He rehabbed himself then to the point of being ready for fall camp in 2021.

All of the pressing issues Nicko knew were coming were valid, but one thing at a time. Cam stayed in his native California after the Rose Bowl as surgery was performed in mid-January by famed Los Angeles-based orthopaedic surgeon Dr. Neal ElAttrache, the head team physician for the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Los Angeles Rams.

With Whittingham's support and Utah training staff in constant contact, Rising's rehab process began with him driving approximately 60 miles from the family home in Ventura to appointments at Elite OrthoSport in LA.

"I spent some time at home earlier in the process just to make sure the baselines were covered," Rising said. "Classes were online, so no problems there. Going down to LA, not easy, but it was well worth it; I'm glad I did it."

Once those baselines were covered, once things were rolling and there was a timeline in place, some thought was given to remaining in Ventura and continuing to make the 60-mile drives for rehab. Those thoughts didn't go very far. After all, Rising is a three-time captain at Utah for a reason.

By the time spring practice was ready to begin, he was back in Salt Lake City, unavailable to participate, but still in the thick of things.

"He said he had to be back with his guys, and that's typical; that's what he's all about," Nicko said. "He's dead set on making a run here, and his teammates are everything to him. He wants to be accountable. He puts in the work, so he expects everyone else to put the work in. That's just how he runs himself."

Added Whittingham: "I remember the first time he came back, it was great to see him again. It had been several weeks since we had seen him and so it was good to have him back. He's the leader of our team, which has been talked about many, many times, so to have your leader back, even though he was rehabbing, was a very positive thing for us. Having him around at that time was invaluable, just helping to mentor the other quarterbacks as another coach on the field.

Spring ball bled into the summer program, which gave way to fall camp. All the while, Rising rehabbed, both in Salt Lake City and back home in California when the football program's calendar permitted.

By the time the Utes reported for camp on July 30, Rising had worked his way back to being a limited participant. He could do a lot of normal quarterback things like throwing and dropping back, but the limited part came into play with things like team periods, full 11-on-11 action, lateral movement, and reactionary cuts.

Whittingham was transparent enough with the media on Rising's limited status through the first three weeks of camp before he started playing things closer to the vest on Aug. 21, 10 days out from Florida visiting.

A depth chart was released on Aug. 25 showing Rising as the starting quarterback, but that meant little to nothing given how long he was limited during camp. He is expected to be out against the Gators, so the question begs, what comes next?

The final chapter

On a brutally-hot, late-summer Monday afternoon at Utah's outdoor practice field, Rising is at the center of a small media scrum three days before the opener, then heads back out to throw some more footballs.

He is wearing a sleeve under a knee brace, but at this point, he has not been ruled out for Florida. That decision, as Whittingham has pointed out a number of times this month, is to be made by the doctor and no one else.

Twenty minutes later, he is the last Utah player off the field, retreating into a nearby, air-conditioned vestibule. He sits down on a bench and begins speaking with conviction.

When asked generally how his last eight months have been, he tosses out the famous Bruce Lee quote, "Be water, my friend," explaining that whatever water is in, it becomes. He admits it's a bit of a cliche, but it's apropos because his mindset through rehab has had to be to simply go with the flow.

The topic turns to last season's opener at Florida, a 29-26 loss in which Rising was intercepted in the closing seconds after trying to jam a tight pass into the end zone for Dalton Kincaid, who slipped and fell on the route. Rising told ESPN 700's Bill Riley at Pac-12 Media Day on July 21 that he is haunted by that game, heavily-hyped for nine months as a potential springboard to College Football Playoff contention.

What could have been done differently?

"Just score a (expletive) touchdown, just make a play with my feet or something, go somewhere else," Rising said through a comfortable laugh. "I always feel like there was meat left on the bone throughout the whole course of the game. It felt like we had an opportunity to kind of just take it there at the end and yeah, just didn't go our way. That last play has stuck with me and is just kind of etched in my mind; it's something I always think about."

Rising is 19-6 as Utah's starting quarterback. That includes two Pac-12 championship game wins, arguably Utah's two-most important wins ever. He has bludgeoned USC three times in two seasons, and beaten Oregon twice inside two weeks, the latter for the 2021 Pac-12 title. Off the field, he became something of a cult legend among Utah fans early in the 2021 season thanks to the #ThiccBoi7 hashtag.

All of that said, talk of the legacy he's leaving does not interest Rising, only what's ahead. But that doesn't mean someone else can't speak for him in this case.

"He's the alpha dog of a team, and there's no debate," Whittingham said. "There is no debate, he's the leader of the leaders everybody rallies around him. Fortunately, we have him for one more year, and we'll see what happens this year, but he has really helped to put our brand on the map nationally, and helped us accomplish what we've been trying to accomplish ever since we got in the Pac-12, and that is to win the championship, but he's done it twice."

To much of Whittingham's point, what Utah is able to accomplish this season is likely dependent upon Rising's health and ability to return at full throttle. Whatever CFP aspirations these Utes are holding onto, legitimate or otherwise, they will be dented with a loss Thursday and out of reach with a second loss at any point this season.

In regards to becoming the first Pac-12 team in the championship game era (2011-23) to win three consecutive titles, if Rising is ready to go by the Pac-12 opener vs. UCLA on Sept. 23, everyone will breathe a sigh of relief and get back on board believing that something special can happen as Rising's final season unfolds.

A year ago, Rising stood in a hallway outside an auditorium at the Eccles Football Center and proclaimed that the College Football Playoff was not a dream too big. On Monday, inside that vestibule, with the start of his season in doubt, Rising still believed that.

And really, why wouldn't he still believe that? Remember, Rising believes he has more to give.

"I think going to the College Football Playoff is next on the docket for the Utes," Rising said. "It's not going to be easy, but we're looking for the challenge and we're here for everything.

"We're ready for it."

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