Is Cam Rising playing tonight vs USC? Utah QB's injury status explored

The mystery of Utah Utes quarterback Cam Rising has become a tiresome one for fans of the Pac-12 team. After injuring both his ACL and MCL in January in the Rose Bowl game against the Penn State Nittany Lions, Rising's comeback date has shifted constantly.

During his weekly news conference, Utah Utes coach Kyle Whittingham addressed the issue of Rising and tight end Brant Kuithe's availability against the USC Trojans:

“That’s a good question. Again, it’s just a situation where we’re just waiting week after week for a thumbs up. Here we are at the midpoint, so I don’t want to say the clock is ticking, but we would love to have either or both of those guys back as soon as possible. But again, it’s just a waiting game and waiting for the go-ahead, waiting for the green light,” Whittingham said.

Utah fans have been growing frustrated with their team's updates on Cam Rising. The quarterback suited up to warmup against UCLA but didn't make an appearance.

Before the clash against Cal, Whittingham gave a promising update on Rising's injury status.

"You have to ask his doctor," Whittingham said. "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."

Based on Whittingham's comments, the quarterback is unlikely to play against the Trojans.

Will Cam Rising take a medical redshirt?

Cam Rising redshirted the 2018 season as a Texas player and sat out the 2019 season after transferring to Utah. However, he is almost eligible for a medical redshirt.

Whittingham addressed the issue of a potential redshirt for the quarterback.

“It used to be in years past if you voluntarily redshirted and then had an injury, you didn’t get a year back, but now, you can get a medical year back no matter why you redshirted in the past,” Whittingham explained. “I shouldn’t say ‘no matter why’ — they call it a ‘coach’s decision,’ which every redshirt is a coach’s decision. And so it is a possibility.”

Cam Rising would need to have played four games or less to qualify for a redshirt. With just five games remaining this season, a medical redshirt is looking likely for the talented quarterback.