Former Texas Longhorns QB Medically Retires from Football

Utah Utes quarterback Cam Rising announced Wednesday that he will medically retire from football.

In a statement posted on X, Rising says he will be forced to stop playing football due to a hand injury he sustained against the Baylor Bears in early 2024.

"Due to a hand injury I suffered during the Baylor game, I've been advised by two orthopedic physicians that I will never be able to return to football," Rising said. "I'll be obtaining a third medical opinion and 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 medically retire from the game I love.

Cam Rising — Utah's Cameron Rising (7) warms up before the college football between the Oklahoma State University Cowboys and the Utah Utes at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater, Okla., Saturday, Sept., 21, 2024. | SARAH PHIPPS/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Rising committed to the Texas Longhorns out of high school, joining the third-ranked recruiting class in the country. Ranked as the No. 26 pro-style quarterback in the 2018 recruiting class according to 247 Sports, the three-star prospect out of Newbury Park, CA, joined then-head coach Tom Herman in his second year at the helm.

However, Rising's time in Austin did not last long, he redshirted as a freshman and headed out west transferring to Utah in 2019.

It was as a part of the Utes that Rising would find success in his college career. However, that success would have to wait until the 2021 season. Still under the NCAA rule of transfer players having to sit out a year, Rising was forced to watch the entire 2019 season from the sidelines, and in 2020, Rising did not get the starting job.

Rising would lead Utah to back-to-back Pac-12 conference championships in 2021 and 2022 and back-to-back Rose Bowl game appearances. He would win the game MVP in 2022 after a 47-22 victory over the No. 4 USC Trojans. In the span of two years, Rising would compile 5,527 passing yards alongside 46 touchdowns while only throwing 13 interceptions.

The final two years of Rising's Utah career were plagued by injury, suffering an ACL injury that kept him out of action the entire 2023 season. And finally, the combination of the hand injury and a leg injury, Rising was shut down for the rest of the 2024 season.

Rising's long seven-year career in college football drew to a close on Wednesday, and not without its intertwined mix of successes and setbacks.