The former Utah Utes quarterback and longtime college football player announced Wednesday he is medically retiring after suffering a hand injury during the 2024 season. He said he was advised by two orthopedic physicians he won’t ever be able to play football and is seeking a third opinion as he will undergo surgery.
‘I will continue to rehab and do all I can to get healthy. In the meantime, I will unfortunately be forced to medical retire from the game I love,’ Rising wrote on social media.
Rising retires from the sports after seven seasons of college football.
Cam Rising’s college career
The decision to medically retire comes after a frustrating end to Rising’s college career.
The No. 22 ranked quarterback in the 2018 recruiting class that included Trevor Lawrence, Justin Fields, Micah Parsons and Amon-Ra St. Brown, Rising committed to Texas out of high school, redshirting his first season in Austin. He then decided to transfer to Utah and sat out the 2019 season. He played his first game during the shortened 2020 season as he suffered a shoulder injury that prematurely ended the campaign for him.
Rising lost the quarterback battle to start the 2021 season, but after a 1-2 start, head coach Kyle Whittingham turned to Rising under center. The Utes found momentum with Rising as the starter, finishing the regular season 8-1 and earning a spot in the Pac-12 championship game. In the contest, Rising led Utah past Oregon for the school’s first Pac-12 title and first Rose Bowl appearance. He was named a Pac-12 first-team selection with 2,493 passing yards with 20 touchdowns and five interceptions, as well as 74 carries for 499 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns.
The quarterback returned to Utah in 2022 and again led Utah back to the Pac-12 championship game. Against College Football Playoff contender Southern California, Rising led the upset against the Trojans to clinch back-to-back conference titles and Rose Bowl appearances. However, in the Rose Bowl game against Penn State, Rising suffered a devastating knee injury. The injury resulted in him missing the entirety of the 2023 season with a medical redshirt as Utah finished 8-5.
Now in his seventh-season, Rising returned to Utah for the 2024 campaign. He started the first two games of the season before he suffered a lacerated finger on his throwing hand early against Baylor on Sept. 7. He returned more than a month later against Arizona State, but was injured early in that contest. That ended up being the last game he played in as Utah determined he as out for the season as the Utes went 5-7, the program’s worst record in 11 years.
Does Cam Rising still have eligibility left?
It might sound crazy that someone who started college in 2018 can still play at the level, but Rising still technically could have petitioned for another year of eligibility via injury redshirt. However, it became evident his time in Utah was done. Earlier this year, Whittingham alluded to the team moving on from Rising.
‘I’ve talked to Cam a few times, but that is really up to Cam to divulge, when he wants to divulge what his plan is,” Whittingham said. ‘We’ve certainly had communication and you don’t see him on the roster right now, so that should tell you some things there.’
If this is in fact the end, Rising finishes his college career with 6,127 passing yards, 53 passing touchdowns, 986 rushing yards and 12 rushing scores. Rising went 20-8 as a starting quarterback, fifth all-time in career wins at Utah.