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SALT LAKE CITY — Whatever frustration Kyle Whittingham has over not having Cam Rising to play quarterback, whatever half-baked theory is being lobbed out about his rehab or his immediate future with the Utes, Rising apparently has seen and heard all of it.
Speaking with Bill Riley in his regular weekly spot on ESPN 700, Rising, a seasoned veteran with the media where he will be courteous but almost never offer anything beyond what he's being asked, went off-script Thursday.
As Riley always does at some point during the weekly spot, he asked Rising how he is feeling and how things are going. Instead of giving Riley a cookie-cutter answer, Rising instead chose to bare a little bit of his soul.
"I wasn't really expecting to do this, but I just want to let everybody know I didn't just tear my ACL," Rising said. "I tore my meniscus, MPFL, and MCL. It was a big surgery and it's not an easy comeback. I've been working my tail off.
"There are guys that have had similar injuries to this like Kyler Murray (who tore his ACL in December), Hendon Hooker (who tore his ACL in November) who have decided not to play this season. I'm grinding and doing everything I possibly can, and even the fact I'm going out there and practicing, I'm ahead of schedule. I'm trying to make sure I can be out there because nobody wants to be out there on the field grinding with those guys more than me, but at the end of the day, it's my body. My body has to recover, and there's not really anyone that can say much besides the best doctor in the world, Dr. ElAttrache, down in LA can say."
ElAttrache, Rising's orthopedic surgeon, as well as the team doctor for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Los Angeles Rams, has overseen the rehabilitation process in conjunction with the Utah athletic department's own medical personnel, but ultimately has the final say.
Following offseason optimism straight from the mouths of Rising and Whittingham that the former could be ready for the season-opener vs. Florida, Rising's continued absence and the lack of full, final clearance from ElAttrache has come under scrutiny from some fans; but more importantly, Whittingham, without saying ElAttrache's name directly, appeared visibly frustrated by the situation when it was broached by reporters after practice Tuesday afternoon.
"You have to ask his doctor," Whittingham deadpanned Tuesday when asked what specifically is keeping Rising from playing in a game. "We hope to know early next week rather than later in the week what the situation is. I think one of the problems is we've been waiting until the end of the week, but we're going to get an answer early next week as to who's going to go."
Coming out of the bye this week, Utah will host Cal on Oct. 14 before embarking on a gauntlet that will include a trip to USC (Oct. 21), hosting Oregon (Oct. 28), and traveling to Washington (Nov. 11).
Whittingham said that if Rising cannot go vs. Cal, it would be Nate Johnson starting for the third straight game, with either Brandon Rose or Luke Bottari serving as Johnson's backup.
"I haven't really talked to any other doctors about my knee, so just continuing to improve each and every day," Rising said. "I know I'm getting closer. I need to keep making days count and hopefully soon, I'll be ready to go. ... I'm doing everything I possibly can to make sure I'm improving; and at some point, your body has to heal the way it has to heal. It's unfortunate, it's not exactly the way I expected this season to go, but these are the cards I've been dealt."
