Cam Rising, former Utah QB, returns to alma mater to be high school football coach

Cam Rising, who won two Pac-12 Championships at Utah, is coming back to his alma mater Newbury Park High to be the offensive coordinator.

Cam Rising (pictured in red), the former University of Utah standout QB, is coming back to Newbury Park High where he graduated from in 2018, to be the offensive coordinator. / Tarek Fattal

He's back — but this time with a headset on.

Cameron Rising, the two-time Pac-12 Champion as quarterback at the University of Utah, has returned back home to California where he'll be the offensive coordinator at Newbury Park High School.

Rising announced his retirement from football on Wednesday via social media.

Rising's addition to coach Joe Smigiel's staff isn't just a feather in Smigiel's cap, but adds a fun element to what could be the most dazzling offensive coordinator-quarterback combination in high school football with 5-star QB Brady Smigiel, a Michigan commit.

"The knowledge and experience he brings is unmatched," Smigiel said of Rising. "Not all great players are great coaches, but Cam knows his stuff and has the ability to communicate it to the players. He has already taught Brady so much in a short amount of time. We are very lucky to have him join our already great staff."

Smigiel anchored Newbury Park to the CIF Southern Section Division 2 championship last season.

Former Newbury Park QB Cam Rising is in town for the big game against Agoura.

I covered Cam when he was a Panther and committed to Texas. Now, of course, we know him as Utah’s quarterback.

He didn’t have hair flow like that back in HS. Time flies. pic.twitter.com/aWyHAl1aVp

— Tarek Fattal (@Tarek_Fattal) October 7, 2023

Rising was a standout at Newbury Park during his high school days. His senior season was in 2017 and graduated in 2018. Rising was one of the nation's top quarterback prospects. Out of high school he was signed to play at Texas where he stayed for one season before tranferring to Utah.

At Utah, where Rising suffered many injuries, he went on to throw for more than 6,000 yards, rush for nearly 1,000 and score 65 touchdowns in 30 games. He was 30-7 as a starter for the Utes.

At Newbury Park, Rising's best season was his sophomore campaign where he threw for 3,213 yards and 40 TDs. He threw 14 touchdowns as a junior and 15 touchdowns as a senior.

MORE ON SMIGIEL

The 2026 prospect threw for 3,521 yards and 49 touchdowns with just three interceptions in 2024. Smigiel completed 65% of his passes en route to a Division 2 title, the program's first since 1993.

Smigiel was committed to Florida State throughout his junior season before recently committing to Michigan in late April.

Smigiel's go-to target for the first three years of his high school career was Shane Rosenthal, who was named High School On SI's 2024 All-CIF Southern Section Player of the Year. Rosenthal is signed to play at UCLA next season after flipping from his commitment with Princeton.

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