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SALT LAKE CITY — A lot has gone on through five games at the University of Utah, and not all of it has to do with the status of sixth-year senior quarterback Cam Rising.
As the 16th-ranked, 4-1 Utes prepare to emerge from their open week by hosting Cal Saturday afternoon at Rice-Eccles Stadium, here are eight thoughts on the state of things. Call it something of a reset as Utah resumes its season, still with everything to play for.
Rising's status
Don't worry, Rising's status will remain the No. 1 storyline hovering around Kyle Whittingham's program. That fact was exasperated last week when Whittingham voiced frustration over the lack of final clearance for Rising, followed the next day by Rising using part of his weekly ESPN 700 spot to offer details of just how bad the injury was.
To be clear, this is a mess, mostly because some of it went public, which is well outside the norm for this program. When Rising will debut was already a gigantic question, but if Rising will debut at all is becoming an increasingly valid topic.
Who is backup QB?
We don't assume anything at this point, but if Rising does not play vs. Cal, it'll be Nate Johnson, and then things get interesting. Whittingham said last week that either Brandon Rose or Luke Bottari would back up Johnson with Bryson Barnes presumed out following an injury at Oregon State.
Bottari, a walk-on, has never thrown a Division I pass, while Rose, a redshirt freshman who was injured during fall camp, has never thrown a collegiate pass of any kind. If it's Rose at QB2, that means Utah will have gotten him ramped up pretty quickly, but only out of necessity. Either way, it's not an ideal situation.
Offensive line shuffling
If you believe Utah's latest depth chart, it appears Jaren Kump will hold on to the starting center spot, with Johnny Maea, the projected starter during fall camp who has not yet played this season due to injury, now appearing as the backup left guard behind Keaton Bills.
What to do at center, specifically what to do once Maea is ready if Kump is playing well, has been the only real, lingering question along the offensive line, which has a stud freshman at left tackle, plus 98 career games played between left guard, right guard, and right tackle.
Chris Curry season-ending injury
Chris Curry being out for the season with what Whittingham described as a non-contact injury is just brutal after he suffered a season-ending injury to his knee early in 2022. Feelings for a popular teammate aside, Curry's departure does nothing positive for what has objectively been a bad season for the rushing attack, long a pillar of Whittingham teams, which is ranked eighth in the Pac-12 and 81st nationally at 143.8 yards per game.
Calling Cal's run defense stout is not accurate, but it does its job at a sufficient level, giving up just 115.8 yards per game. Utah could use a healthy Ja'Quinden Jackson Saturday, let alone the Jackson a lot of people think he's capable of being on a consistent basis.
Situation at RB
Staying on topic for a moment, the situation at RB has not included freshmen Mike Mitchell, John Randle Jr., or Dijon Stanley, although Stanley has played in the last two games. If any of those guys were ready for carries, they would be getting carries. That's not some great, big conspiracy, even as the position has been beset by injuries to Jackson and now Curry.
Pass defense
Yes, Utah's pass defense is giving up too many chunk plays through the air, but there really isn't a lot to complain about on that side of the ball, specifically up front. Remember, 75% of the front four has either been out or limited for most of this season, yet the Utes still own the nation's No. 3 rush defense (67.0 YPG) with guys like Jonah Elliss at one end and Keanu Tanuvasa at defensive tackle stepping in among the injuries to play major roles.
Both Elliss and Tanuvasa figure to keep starting as Utah's health begins to get better.
Tight end involvement
Between Dalton Kincaid and Brant Kuithe, when he is healthy, Utah has gotten so much production out of the tight end position in recent seasons that it's almost jarring to see that position not yield much in the way of pass-catching production.
Thomas Yassmin has eight catches for 81 yards and that's about it, save for Landen King catching a touchdown pass against UCLA. Kuithe would help solve some problems, but like Rising, that's a big question. Whittingham has spoken positively of King's progression, so if he can get to the point where he's playing a bigger role, that would also be helpful.
Everything on the table
As we alluded to at the top, no matter what you think of this Utah team right now, the fact remains that everything is still on table. That said, some things have to happen.
In spite of last week's injury reveal, Rising has to show up looking at least like a modicum of his best self, a rushing attack has to emerge, and you need 3-4 guys to be consistent pass-catchers. All of that said, based on the current state of the Utes, plus the state of the top of the Pac-12, there is at least a 50-50 chance that reality starts setting in at the LA Coliseum on the evening of Oct. 21.
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Josh Newman
