Kyle Whittingham: Cameron Rising is the 'leader of leaders'

Before participating in Pac-12's Media Day, Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham joined ESPN's Stan Verrett to discuss Utah's success last season and what they are looking forward to in 2022.

Prior to discussing the impact and leadership of returning a quarteback like Cameron Rising, Whittingham explained how the Utes are still riding high off their 2021 championship, but recongized that this is a new year with new challenges.

"It had an effect on recruiting for sure and gives us the challenge of trying to repeat. Obviously we've got to understand that last year was last year. All those plays that were made last year are not going to help us this year at all but the positive news is, a lot of the guys that did make the plays last year are back," Whittingham explained.

As one of those key players, quarterback Cameron Rising is back and better than ever. Looking back at last year, Rising was simply excellent for Utah. In 13 appearances with 11 starts, Rising went 204-320 (63%) for 2,493 yards (210 yard average in those 11 starts), 20 TD's (16 passing touchdowns in those 11 starts) and just five interceptions. Notably, Utah was also 9-2 with Rising at the helm, only losing to Oregon State and eventually Ohio State in the Rose Bowl.

Now, in 2022, not only is Rising looking to improve upon what he did last season, but his leadership on and off the field is simply invaluable to this Utah program.

"Its huge for us. He was First-Team All-Pac-12 last year. He is the leader of our team, the leader of leaders, the alpha dog, and to know that he is your guy, it permeates throughout the program," Whittingham added.

With Rising and several other key offensive weapons returning in 2022, Utah will not only be looking to repeat as Pac-12 Champions, but hope to find themselves in the College Football Playoff as one of the top four teams in the country.

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