Utah Utes Coach to Keep Arizona Wildcats in Dark About Starter at Key Position

The Arizona Wildcats may have to wait as late as Saturday afternoon to find out who will lead the Utah Utes on offense.

Sep 14, 2024; Logan, Utah, USA; Utah Utes head coach Kyle Whittingham watches his team play against the Utah State Aggies in the second half at Merlin Olsen Field at Maverik Stadium. | Jamie Sabau-Imagn Images

Utah Utes head coach Kyle Whittingham did not name a starting quarterback during his weekly meeting with local media, adding suspense to who will take the opening snap when they face the Arizona Wildcats on Saturday night.

Josh Furlong of KSL Sports in Salt Lake City reported that Cam Rising, the veteran quarterback in his sixth season of college football, is cleared to play after he suffered a finger injury against Baylor two weeks ago. But, he opted not to name a starter, as true freshman Isaac Wilson has started the past two games.

"Bottom line is, whichever gives us the best option to win is going to be out there,” Whittingham said.

The Utes (4-0, 1-0 in Big 12) had hoped Rising was able to play against Oklahoma State last weekend, but Whittingham said that he wasn’t able to get the velocity he needed on the football and Utah opted to go with Wilson.

Rising threw seven touchdown passes in six quarters of football before he was tackled into a hydration station against Baylor on Sept. 7. Rising left the game and returned in street clothes with a bandage around a finger on his throwing hand.

Wilson — the younger brother of NFL quarterback and former BYU star Zach Wilson — has started the last two games and has improved with each outing.

Against Oklahoma State he threw for 207 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. The ball security may be the biggest reason to go back to Rising once he’s ready to go.

Whittingham did say the playbook is now basically the same for both quarterbacks due to the increase in Wilson’s playing time.

As a true freshman who has already played four games, he would burn his redshirt with his next game appearance. He can play up to four games his freshman year and still redshirt.

Utah and Arizona will be playing each other for the first time as Big 12 members. But, the Utes and the Wildcats are familiar with one another from their days in the Pac-12.

Arizona had been a member of the conference since the late ’70s while Utah joined the league in 2011. The two schools played on almost an annual basis before they made the migration to the Big 12 this year after the Pac-12 collapsed and lost 10 of its schools to three different conferences. Arizona State and Colorado also moved to the Big 12.