What’s the plan for Cam? Here’s what we know

After missing the last six quarters of football with a finger injury, Utah quarterback Cam Rising is back.
That’s the expectation and the plan, at least.
The Utes’ veteran leader is expected to be under center as No. 12 Utah travels to Stillwater, Oklahoma, to face No. 14 Oklahoma State in the Big 12 opener for both programs.
A top-15 matchup between two undefeated teams, a sold-out Boone Pickens Stadium, and a game that could be key in determining the race for the Big 12 championship game.
What more could you ask for?
“That’s all you ever dreamed of as a kid is just playing in big-time football games,” Rising said. “And this is a great Oklahoma State team, so just chomping at the bit to get out there and get this thing going finally.”
Utah, a two-point road favorite, needs its starting quarterback, and heartbeat of the team, back as it enters hostile territory in what could end up being the hardest game of the season.
After suffering an injury to his right (throwing hand) ring finger after being pushed into the Gatorade coolers in the second quarter of Utah’s win against Baylor, Rising appears to be good to go for the Oklahoma State contest.
After the Utah State game, Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said “the plan” was for the Utes to get Rising back this week, and on Monday night, Rising was made available to the media, usually a good sign for availability as injured players are typically not available to the press.
Wide receiver Dorian Singer, who had his best game as a Ute with five catches for 66 yards, just came right out and said it.
“He’s going to be ready to go this week,” Singer said. “We’re expecting the same things as where he left off, even better. We’re expecting the whole offense to rally around him, all the guys rally around him, and we’re going to go out and get this thing.”
In the little less than four quarters that Rising has played, Utah’s offense has mostly been humming along. He threw for 254 yards and five touchdowns in the first half against Southern Utah, and 92 yards and two scores in the Utes’ win over Baylor, though Utah punted twice before Rising’s injury.
To beat Oklahoma State on the road, Rising will have to have an exceptional performance.
“I think they’re a damn good team. I got a lot of respect for coach Gundy. He’s always been one of my favorite coaches in college football for the past few years.” Rising said. “I think their team plays hard. They do it the right way and they like to play a lot of man coverage, so excited for the opportunity to play them. And looking forward to being in Stillwater.”
While Utah turns back to its present-day starting quarterback, it got a glimpse of its possible future starting quarterback last week against Utah State.
In his first-ever college start, Isaac Wilson shook off a slow start (Utah scored just three points in its first four drives) to finish with a final stat line of 239 yards, three touchdowns and an interception while completing 20 of 33 passes.
To offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig’s credit, it wasn’t a repeat of the Baylor game where the ball was mainly kept on the ground. Instead, the Utes had a good pass-run split — 33/39 when taking out kneel-downs — and allowed Wilson to play his game.
The former Corner Canyon quarterback was 5 of 9 on passes between 10 and 19 yards and 2 of 5 on passes of 20 or more yards.
After settling in — some of Wilson’s passes in the early going were consistently too high for his receivers — he made a few throws that were impressive for any college quarterback, let alone a true freshman in his third college game.
He utilized pump-fakes that Utah State’s cornerbacks bit on, opening holes in the Aggies’ zone that Wilson attacked, dropping the ball right into his receivers’ hands, including a 20-yard pass to Money Parks with 7:53 left in the third quarter, his most impressive throw of the game.
During the third quarter, Wilson had seven consecutive completions over two drives that ended with a field goal and a touchdown, building Utah’s lead to 28-14.
“Anytime you get on a streak like that, it’s going to be good news for the team. And yeah, we were rolling,” Rising said.
Yes, there was the slow start, an interception off the hands of Kuithe, and another turnover-worthy throw that Wilson was lucky to get away with.
“Taking away the dangerous throws,” Wilson said when asked what he needed to improve on. “I felt like I had a couple in the game. A little too dangerous. Just take the check down and get the easy play and keep moving forward.”
But there was certainly more good than bad, and Pro Football Focus gave him a grade of 73.5, the highest grade for a true freshman quarterback in Week 3.
Postgame, Utah coach Kyle Whittingham paid him the ultimate compliment.
“Great to see Isaac Wilson settle in and look like a real Power Four quarterback,” Whittingham said.
While Utah hopes it won’t have to play Wilson again the season, unless it’s garbage time in a blowout, the win over Utah State affirmed that the Utes made the right choice to back up Rising.