Nate Johnson starts vs. UCLA, Cam Rising's availability remains a question

SALT LAKE CITY — The University of Utah's offense remained in the hands of Nate Johnson Saturday afternoon.

How long that will be the case, though, remains a point of emphasis.

Johnson started for the second straight week as the Utes opened Pac-12-play against UCLA with a 14-7 win. The offense under Johnson's control managed just 7 points via a 7-yard touchdown pass late in the second quarter from Johnson to tight end Landen King. Johnson, a redshirt freshman, finished 9-for-17 for 117 yards, the touchdown pass and no interceptions. He also fumbled twice, losing one of them.

"Coach Lud (offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig) is going to structure things based on his confidence in different facets of the offense," said Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham, who noted that Johnson now has 75% of the playbook at his disposal. "You tailor it to that, the guy's strengths. We haven't been prolific yet this season, we're still trying to figure out who we are right now with what we're doing offensively, so that's where we're at."

Added Johnson: "I feel like everything was just fine, we just kept shooting ourselves in the foot on a number of drives. We just have to clean up a lot of things on offense."

When exactly Cam Rising will be ready has become a polarizing topic, which was only exasperated by Saturday's goings-on.

The sixth-year senior was a fully-padded participant in pregame warmups for the first time this season, but was on the sidelines in street clothes at kickoff.

Based on warmups, it appeared Rising would be the No. 3 quarterback, potentially dressing only for an emergency role. Bryson Barnes, who started the season opener vs. Florida, but was leapfrogged by Johnson on the depth, again served as the backup.

"The plan was to have him warm up in full pads and then come in and just change clothes because he was not cleared," Whittingham said, again referencing the fact that Rising's availability is at the final discretion of his Los Angeles-based orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Neal ElAttrache. "Just another opportunity for him to throw and work on his work on his craft."

Optimism had grown over the course of the week that Rising would make his season-debut Saturday, but Whittingham threw some cold water on that, saying that they would not know if Rising would gain clearance until Thursday. That clearance never came, and in spite of Utah's first 4-0 record since 2017, the continued absence of the program's most-important player makes what is possible this season for the two-time, reigning Pac-12 champion much tougher to bring into focus.

Rising tore his left ACL early in the third quarter of the Rose Bowl on Jan. 2. At that point, he was already playing with an unrelated, unspecified injury in the same knee suffered during a 43-42 come-from-behind win over USC at Rice-Eccles Stadium.

In the time between the Rose Bowl and the beginning of spring practice, Whittingham in limited interactions with the media offered optimism, if not confidence, that Rising would be available for the Aug. 31 season-opener against the University of Florida.

Rising rehabbed himself to the point of being a limited participant as fall camp began, but that limited tag remained until he received green-light, no-limitation clearance for practice on the eve of the opener. By then, it was too late to get Rising on-boarded to face the Gators, but his return at some point this month felt imminent.

Barnes started the opener, plus the following week at Baylor, with Johnson making cameos along the way. Johnson has since ascended to QB1 until Rising is available, making his first career start against Weber State in which he went 13-for-21 for 193 yards, a touchdown, and no interceptions. He added 71 rushing yards and another score on 16 carries, many of which were by design.

Whittingham is unlikely to tip his hand one way or the other on Rising's status, but he has been consistent all along that when deemed ready, not to mention fully cleared for a game by medical personnel, he will play.

Although, with a short week coming, capped by a Friday night trip to what should be a circus-like environment at Oregon State's newly-renovated Reser Stadium, the question begs, is that the appropriate time and place to have Rising debut? That becomes a factor now because beyond the Beavers, Utah has an open week, which would, in theory, buy Rising more ramp-up time if he needs it.

An Oct. 14 home game vs. Cal could act as something of a dress rehearsal for a Rising-led offense before a hugely-critical trip to USC on Oct. 21.

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