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SALT LAKE CITY — By any metric, the quarterback situation at the University of Utah this fall has not been good.
Cam Rising's presumed return from January knee surgery never panned out, the situation coming to a head Oct. 5 when he detailed the previously-unknown severity of the injury, followed by the Oct. 21 announcement he would seek a medical redshirt.
Within the season's first five games, Bryson Barnes was benched at Baylor, and Nate Johnson was benched at Oregon State. In between those September bookends, there were lowlights.
The Utes offense registered 6 points and no touchdowns through three quarters at Baylor before Johnson engineered a fourth-quarter comeback, 7 points in a win over UCLA, 7 points in a loss at Oregon State, and 6 points and no touchdowns vs. Oregon.
Utah ranks last in the Pac-12 and 120th nationally in passing offense at 159.2 yards per game, numbers that would likely be worse had Barnes not helped engineer 34 points apiece in back-to-back wins over Cal and USC last month.
Not nearly all of this is on the quarterback, but the starter at the most-important position on the field is almost always going to catch the brunt of negativity.
With each passing game, as Rising's absence was shrouded in mystery, as Johnson didn't look ready enough, as Barnes has struggled at times as essentially the unquestioned starter at this point, there have been calls from pockets of the fan base for Brandon Rose to get a shot, but more so a curiosity as to why that had not happened already.
"Whoever gives us the best chance to win is who we'll trot out there, and if Brandon becomes that guy, then yes, that will happen, but right now Bryson Barnes is our guy," Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham said Monday. "That's our No. 1 quarterback at this point in time."
What has been wrongly perceived by many as a curious absence from game action can be traced back to August, but Rose's story really traces back to spring practice.
With Rising out for spring after suffering a knee injury Jan. 2 in the Rose Bowl, Whittingham was not only looking to determine Rising's backup for 2023, but also the most-viable option to start the Aug. 31 season-opener vs. Florida if Rising could not go.
By the time the 22 Forever Game ended, Rose had established himself as the leading candidate. Barnes, at the time, was not getting a full share of reps as Whittingham viewed him as a known commodity, instead focusing on Rose and Johnson, two young guys with minimal college football experience to try to determine what exactly he had in his quarterbacks room.
Early in fall camp, Utah conducted a fully-padded, live scrimmage in which the quarterbacks were allowed to be tackled. On Aug. 11, Rose revealed in an Instagram post that he suffered an undisclosed injury during the scrimmage. The post indicated that there was a hospital stay, which painted the injury as not run-of-the-mill.
When the topic was broached to Whittingham on Aug. 15, he balked, later saying that if Utah had to play a game that day, Barnes would start, lending credence to the notion that Rose would be out a while.
Rose told KSL.com earlier this week that he doesn't remember much about the play he was hurt on, but did term it "a football hit."
Rose was out of action for roughly a month, which encompassed the tail end of fall camp, into the early days of the regular season. He has since returned healthy and is now running the scout team, which was his role for the final 75% of his true freshman season in 2022.
That is all well and good, but with so many on-field reps missed, and that much potential on-field work eliminated after the injury, Rose being in the mix to play meaningful snaps this fall evaporated, barring something drastic.
Whittingham indicated as much early in the regular season once quarterback issues became a little more glaring, and again this week when his name came up.
"Missing all that time, obviously, set him back," Whittingham said. "Had he not missed all that time, he'd be more in the mix. I don't think there's any doubt about that, but here we are with four games left and we'll see if he can elevate himself, but that's really up to him how he performs."
Added Rose: "It's just been me being patient right now with everything that's going on here. It's all about the team right now, it's all about going out and getting a win vs. Arizona State this week, having a good week of preparation and all that. So I'm doing whatever I can to help them. That's really my mindset right now."
Whittingham elevating Rose to the active roster for any or all of the last four regular-season games is technically an option, but it doesn't seem to make a lot of sense given what Rose's path forward looks like.
Refusing to buy into the notion that this is a lost year thanks to injury, Rose is headed toward a medical redshirt, which would give him this year of eligibility back.
Like Rising, Rose checks off the NCAA criteria to be eligible for the medical redshirt, so assuming he gets it, he would still have four years to play beginning in 2024. Whittingham indicated that plan earlier this season as Rose was working his way back, and reaffirmed it on Monday. If a medical redshirt is the path, let alone the fact the Utes still have meaningful games to play, Rose is not going to step on the field.
"Anything's on the table, I guess you could say, but right now it's just being the best player I can be out there on the field and helping," Rose said. "Helping out any way I can to help the team win."
Last offseason, and most of this season to date, was dominated by Rising, the severity of his injury, and whether or not he'll play. This offseason is lined up to be much of the same until he makes a decision about 2024. With a seventh year of eligibility all but assured via medical redshirt, Rising has not announced whether or not he intends to play in college next season.
Rising's options appear simple: Return to Utah for the seventh year, take the medical redshirt and hit the NCAA transfer portal, or leave school having missed a full season and, as he turns 25 in May, take a crack at the NFL. Whatever happens with Rising, there will be a trickle-down effect inside the QB room.
If Rising returns, he will start, which means no one else will barring injury. How much patience do Rose, Johnson and Barnes have to wait? How good is the NIL situation for Utah QBs not named Rising, and is it good enough to keep the room intact?
If Rising leaves, maybe Whittingham opens up the position for spring ball in 2024, or, seeing the lack of experience at his disposal going into the program's first season in the Big 12, tries to hit the transfer portal for veteran, accomplished, immediately-eligible help.
As Rose sees it, such a scenario is for another day down the road.
"I haven't really looked too forward into that," Rose said. "I want to keep playing out the rest of the season, whatever happens, happens. It's out of our control, but what we can control right now is just preparing for ASU and having a good week of practice."
