25-Year-Old College Football QB Makes Decision on Eighth Year
Although he had the option to return for what would have been his eighth season of college football, the former four-star recruit from the class of 2018 took to social media on Wednesday to clarify his situation.
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With the post captioned "Bad Moon Out," Rising revealed that a hand injury suffered in the team's Week 2 win over the Baylor Bears after he was shoved into a water cooler will prevent him from playing football again. He is medically retiring at this time.
Rising does say in the post that he plans to get surgery on his hand and rehab the injury, but in the "meantime," he is "forced" to medically retire after being told by two different orthopedic physicians that he will "never" be able to play football again.
While it's unclear if Rising was waiting for clearance to return to football before he went through the process, there was a possibility that he could have received an eighth year thanks to a medical redshirt for this past season.
Utah Utes quarterback Cameron Rising (7) drops back to throw the ball.© Rob Gray-Imagn Images
While he will forever be remembered as the quarterback who led Utah to its first two Pac-12 championships in 2021 and 2022, fans will also recall all of the injuries he endured during his career.
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During 2020, he suffered a season-ending shoulder injury in the first game of the season. He then returned in 2021, taking over as the starter three games into the season. After leading Utah to a Pac-12 title in 2022, he suffered a horrific knee injury in the team's Rose Bowl loss to the Penn State Nittany Lions, which led to him missing all of 2023.
This past season, he suffered a hand injury in Week 2 before returning in Week 7, when he suffered a lower-body injury against the Arizona State Sun Devils that led to his being ruled out indefinitely.
It is unclear if Rising declared for the draft or went through any pre-draft process activities. Regardless, he left a lasting legacy in Salt Lake City.
Related: Former 5-Star WR Unexpectedly Announces Retirement After Going Undrafted
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