Utah Has A Plan At Quarterback Heading The Rivalry Game

SALT LAKE CITY — It’s rivalry week for the state’s two most prominent programs. For Utah, this season has not gone according to plan, in any sense. It’s been a season of nightmare scenarios and results.

As Utah begins their game-week preparations, they will do so with public uncertainty surrounding the quarterback position. The bye week was spent evaluating the position in a renewed quarterback battle.

GAME TIME ANNOUNCEMENT‼️

🆚 BYU
🏟️ Rice-Eccles Stadium
⏰ SAT 11.09 | 8:15PM MT
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— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) October 28, 2024

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Utah split reps equally between true freshman Isaac Wilson and third-year sophomore Brandon Rose, hoping to find a spark offensively. Though it won’t be known until the offense takes the field, Utah knows— or at least has a plan of who the quarterback will be.

“Yeah, we’ve got a plan right now, and we’ll keep it to ourselves,” Whittingham said of the quarterback situation. “We have a plan going forward; nothing is ever set in stone, but we’ve got a situation that is best for us and gives us the best chance to win. ”

A Lot Of Belief In Freshman Isaac Wilson

“Generally speaking, we have a ton of belief in Isaac,” Whittingham said. “We still think he’s got a big upside.”

This season has not gone according to plan for the program, particularly at quarterback. That included and impacted the plan around Wilson and his involvement this season.

“We didn’t know he’d be thrust into the starting role a game and a half into the season,” he shared. “The idea and plan was Cam stays healthy, Isaac gets sporadic playing time along the way and continues to develop.”

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Rising has not stayed healthy, and Wilson has now amassed nearly 400 snaps this season. Though it’s been difficult, those snaps will benefit him in the long run, and there is still plenty of the season to play out.

“Everything was accelerated and I don’t want to say it’s unfair to Isaac because there are other true freshmen in the country that are thrust into starting roles,” he said. “The bottom line is that we have a lot of belief in Isaac and it’ll be important to see how the year finishes out.”

Utah’s Brandon Rose Has Been Practicing Well

Going back to the Houston contest, Brandon Rose was his first action of the season. He finished the game 7-of-15 for 45 yards and one interception, however, he flashed in moments as the signal caller.

“Brandon had been practicing extremely well as the No. 2 guy, and given the circumstances, it made sense to give him a chance and see what he could do,” Whittingham said. “He’s playing his best football as a Ute, at least in practice,” he said. “He’s done a good job in practice and continues to get better.”

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Rose joined the program as part of the 2022 recruiting class and came to Utah with a fellow quarterback Nate Johnson. After redshirting his first year, Rose was set to compete for the “backup” job last year.

“He’s done well; he was really doing well last year and then had that injury that kept him six or eight weeks, which really set him back,” Whittingham said of the third-year quarterback. “In spring ball (this past spring), he got some reps. Isaac had a bunch of the reps as well, but Brandon has made steady and continual progress since he’s been in the program.”

What Happened To Cam Rising?

Rising injured his throwing hand in the team’s game against the Baylor Bears. His finger injury would cost Rising the next three games.

After returning to action in a week seven matchup against Arizona State, Rising suffered yet another injury. Rising was rolled up on three plays into the game and suffered a lower leg injury.

After further examination, the injury was deemed season-ending. Now, a few weeks removed from the injury, Whittingham shared that Rising would undergo surgery sometime this week.

Rising has not indicated his future plans, but Whittingham added that Rising would take time after his surgery to determine them.

Steve Bartle is the Utah insider for KSL Sports. He hosts The Utah Blockcast (SUBSCRIBE) and appears on KSL Sports Zone to break down the Utes. You can follow him on X for the latest Utah updates and game analysis.

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