🏈 Cam Rising: Year.. 8?

The typical college experience is 4 years, sometimes 5, but for the average case scenario, it is 4 years. Cam Rising, a QB at the University of Utah, could potentially double that number. How, you may ask? I’ll tell ya how.

Cam Rising has won TWO Pac-12 titles as the QB at the University of Utah, he’s arguably one of the best QBs in the nation when he’s healthy. The problem is, he hasn’t been healthy really ever.

Utah head coach said that Cam Rising will be out “indefinitely” this year and likely for a good portion of the remainder of the year, if not the whole year. While the news may seem pretty rough in the short term, it leaves the door open for Rising to return for his 8th year of eligibility.

To get his eighth year of eligibility, he has two paths: 1. Since he will likely play in less than four games this year and suffered a season-ending injury, he can apply for a medical redshirt. This allows college athletes to get an extra year of edibility when they miss a whole year. 2. He can apply for a hardship waiver. In June, the US Dept. of Justice ruled that players who were forced to sit out a year after transferring (a rule that is now changed) prior to the 2019 season can get that year of eligibility back. Rising was forced to sit out the 2019 season after transferring from Texas to Utah, because of course he was.

Here’s how his career has played out:

• 2018 at Texas he redshirted (which means he didn’t play but didn’t lose a year of eligibility, each player gets five years to play 4 seasons)

• 2019 he transferred to Utah and sat the whole year because of the transfer rule at the time

• 2020 he played one game and tore his knee apart

• 2021/2022 he was the Utah starter and led them to two Pac-12 titles

• 2023 he tore his knee apart again

• 2024 he hurt his hand in the second game and then returned a few weeks later only to hurt his lower leg

He’s now been in college for SEVEN YEARS, he’s played in 29 games. College teams, at a minimum, play 12 games a year. Rising got his degree in 2021, but now he has a chance to play in 2025.

I’m not saying this is wrong or right, I’m just saying this is pretty nuts. You decide if it’s good or bad for the sport.

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