Although injuries haven’t been kind to Cam Rising, what one cannot take away is his talent. The four-star recruit once was considered a crown jewel in the Texas Longhorns’ roster before he decided to make a surprising move to the Utah Utes. While it still surprises some, from Cam’s perspective, it’s one of the most logical decisions he could have made.
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In an interview with Dan Clark back in 2022, Rising revealed that his decision to switch to the less lucrative University of Utah stemmed from two reasons: disagreements in academics and coaching philosophy.
The star quarterback told Dan that their inability to offer a subject he wanted to learn was a major factor in his decision to move. “Texas didn’t offer what I wanted to study. That was a big part of it,” candidly admitted Cameron.
Rising then revealed that he was not a fan of how the QBs trained and played in Texas. For someone who has struggled with injuries throughout his career, a training regimen that emphasized running or relied on explosiveness through rigorous workouts wasn’t something he wanted his body to endure.
“Football-wise, I didn’t like the way that they were running the quarterback so much. I got a little scared to be running quarterback power and doing stuff like that. I didn’t want to put my body through that type of punishment.”
For these reasons, Rising decided to make the switch to Utah. However, what he didn’t factor in was the culture in Salt Lake City, which he believes will make him stick with the program throughout his collegiate career.
Rising loves his teammates
In his conversation with Dan, Cam revealed what would ultimately help him stay in Utah for the remainder of his career: the culture fostered by his teammates.
The former Texas QB noted that his Utah teammates always put their heads down and trained hard, which motivated him to do the same. This collective spirit towards betterment also helped Rising to enjoy the process, as he started getting a feeling of belonging and shared struggles.
“My teammates, I love those guys. They do a great job coming in and wanting to work every day. I love being around them. That’s why it’s fun to come in each and every day. You can do it with a smile because the guy next to you is grinding just as much as you are. It makes it that much more fun.”
Another interesting effect of this shared quest toward success is focus. Rising noted that the environment at Utah is so demanding that players barely have the bandwidth to let outside noise affect them.
“You don’t even think about all that other stuff… In that time, you’ve got to keep the main thing and focus on the ball and being with your team.”
As cooperative and loving as his teammates have been, the unfortunate reality is Cam needs to step up now. Though no fault of his own, his tryst with injuries over the last two years has crippled the Utes offense.
If things continue this way, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Rising’s days as a starter get cut short because, in a way, it’s unfair to others who are doing their role efficiently.
