SALT LAKE CITY – Utah Football’s star quarterback Cam Rising’s injury status has been the biggest topic of the season. That’s rather unfortunate for a program that wants to compete for a Big 12 Conference title.

Rising was shoved into water coolers by Baylor defensive lineman Trevan Ma’ae and suffered an injury to the ring finger on his throwing hand. After sitting out the Utah State game, he’s been designated as a game-time decision each of the last two weeks.

Despite that, Rising seems no closer to a return than he did three weeks ago.

Details of the injury recovery process have not been clearly stated. However, head coach Kyle Whittingham made one thing quite clear in his media availability on Tuesday… “Cam Rising wants to play.” #GoUtes
https://t.co/CQyeMUMGUZ

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) October 2, 2024

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Cam Rising’s injury status will continue into next week for Utah

Most important to Utah fans is learning what Rising’s status genuinely is.  Even five days later, one thing has continued to stand out in Whittingham’s comments about Rising’s return: “We hope it’s this next game.”

As a reminder, ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported that the week of the Oklahoma State game, Rising suffered a dislocated finger on his throwing hand. There were also stitches for a deep laceration but that’s not as important.

Typical timeline recoveries for dislocated fingers range anywhere from three to six weeks. There could be additional damage (ligaments, tendons, fractures) that were not diagnosed initially, which can extend the recovery timeline.

Following the Oklahoma State game, Rising has been wearing a molded cast over the middle and ring fingers. All of that makes pinning down an exact return like throwing a dart at the board. So what’s the best case, likely case, and worst case:

Best Case: Rising has made good progress and will return to practice next week. He leads Utah down to Tempe for their matchup with Arizona State. At this point, that seems very optimistic.

Worst Case: The injury is much worse than ever believed, given the molded cast he’s been wearing for two weeks, there is a chance that is the case. That could mean his return won’t happen until the BYU game or later.

Likely Case: The likely outcome is that Rising nearly takes the full six weeks of recovery. That would put the TCU game or the Houston contest as the most likely case for his return.

Injuries have significantly impacted how Utah has looked but the result is still a 4-1 record. Here’s how each unit grades out. https://t.co/k41uKdscID

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) October 1, 2024

Cam Rising’s injury situation is a case study of why we need injury reports

The lack of information and clarity has created a lot of frustration for those following the program. This situation is a leading cause for why many want a mandatory injury report.

Earlier this season, Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian was asked about the institution of the injury report in the SEC. His response was actually rather enlightening. Here is the full quote from Sarkisian:

“The report, I think it’s a good thing. So that everyone’s clear of why we do this report: It’s so that we can minimize the leaks in all of our buildings. From a gambling perspective, everybody wants to know the truth, right? Everybody’s trying to figure out who’s playing and who’s not. And then everybody wants to call student trainers and student managers (and ask) who practiced, who didn’t, and all these things. So, at the end of the day, if that minimizes them having to talk to people, I’d just give the report. I mean, that’s why the NFL has done it.”

Earlier this week, CBS Sports Dennis Dodd wrote about the growing frustration over Utah’s handling of the Rising injury situation. In the article, Dodd highlighted the growing frustration of the Utah fanbase. However, he also made it very clear that the growing sports gambling market is also contributing to the increased frustration.

From Utah’s perspective, they could not care less about the impact this is having on the sports gambling world. Their entire focus is on maximizing their chances of winning.

However, they do care about leaks from within the program. An injury report would help alleviate the need for outsiders to take such measures in acquiring that information.

Utah Football’s Remaining 2024 Schedule

• Utah Football @ Arizona State Sun Devils on Friday, October 11
• Utah Football vs. TCU Horned Frogs on Saturday, October 19
• Utah Football @ Houston Cougars on Saturday, October 26
• Utah Football vs. BYU Cougars on Saturday, November, 9
• Utah Football @ Colorado Buffaloes on Saturday, November 16
• Utah Football vs. Iowa State Cyclones on Saturday, November 23
• Utah Football @ UCF Knights on Friday, November 29

Steve Bartle is the Utah insider for KSL Sports. He hosts The Utah Blockcast (SUBSCRIBE) and appears on KSL Sports Zone to break down the Utes. You can follow him on X for the latest Utah updates and game analysis.

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