Utah's quarterback situation remains a mystery with less than a month until the start of the 2023 season. Star Cam Rising is still rehabbing his ACL injury from January's Rose Bowl loss, and Utes coach Kyle Whittingham is not certain Rising will be able to go for Week 1 vs. Florida. To make matters worse, Brandon Rose -- Rising's primary backup -- suffered a severe injury during a recent scrimmage that required a trip to the hospital, according to a social media post from Rose's family.
Utah hosts Florida on Aug. 31 in a rematch of last season's season-opening thriller. Though Utah fell just short 29-26, a fully healthy Rising threw for 216 yards and one touchdown and rushed for 91 yards on just seven carries. A road trip to Baylor follows on Sept. 9, and Pac-12 play on Sept. 23 against UCLA.
"I will say that we are a little bit beat up right now as a team which you would expect 14 days in," Whittingham said Tuesday, per KSL Sports. "We're over the halfway point- 11 practices to go and so hopefully we'll get guys back, but camp is physical. That's how it always is. Nothing different this year. We are little bit beat up but hope to see some guys work their way back into the mix and start taking reps again."
With Rising's timeline still uncertain and Rose on the shelf for what could be a considerable amount of time, where does Utah turn?
Names to know
QB Bryson Barnes: If Utah was playing Florida this week, junior Bryson Barnes would be the likely selection for QB1. He's been getting the majority of the first-team reps, according to Whittingham. As far as tertiary options go, a team could do much worse than Barnes. Keen fans will remember his heroic performance against Ohio State in the 2022 Rose Bowl. Pressed into service late in the fourth quarter under eerily similar circumstances -- an injury to Rising -- Barnes completed both of his passes for 23 yards, including a 15-yard touchdown pass to tight end Dalton Kincaid with less than two minutes to play, tying the game at 45.
ARE YOU KIDDING?!
— ESPN (@espn) January 2, 2022
THE UTES TIE IT UP WITH THIS TOUCHDOWN 🙌 pic.twitter.com/jYy6ky8p0f
Barnes started a game against Washington State last season, throwing for 175 yards and one touchdown while rushing for 51 yards. He then replaced Rising once more in the 2023 Rose Bowl, throwing for 112 yards with one touchdown against a salty Penn State defense. He only engineered one scoring drive in the eventual 35-21 loss.
Barnes joined the Utes in 2020 as a walk-on, spurning scholarship offers from a handful of FCS programs. He has yet to be put on scholarship, though that might change depending on how 2023 goes.
QB Nate Johnson: If Barnes is the new starter, Johnson is the new backup. A freshman in 2022, Johnson maintained his redshirt eligibility by appearing in just four games, though he was highly efficient in his limited playing time. He completed one pass for a 16-yard touchdown and rushed four times, two of which ended in the end zone. He also averaged more than 10 rushing yards per attempt. Johnson signed with Utah in 2022 as a three-star prospect out of Clovis, California.
RB Ja'Quinden Jackson: Every team has an emergency quarterback, though they hope it never comes to that. While Jackson has all-conference upside at running back for the Utes, he actually began his career under center. In fact, Jackson, a fourth-year sophomore, did not transition fully to running back until four games into the 2022 season. He still managed to finish with 531 rushing yards and nine touchdowns.
Whittingham might already be scheming up quarterback plays for the 6-foot-2 and 228-pound Jackson, regardless of what happens ahead of him, to give opposing defenses an unorthodox look. Jackson was a highly regarded QB prospect coming out of Duncanville, Texas, finishing the 2020 cycle as the No. 46 player in the nation and the No. 3 dual-threat quarterback.
He signed with Texas and spent one season there before transferring to Utah ahead of the 2021 campaign.
Season outlook
Utah's early schedule is brutal for a team dealing with injuries atop its quarterback depth chart. Florida is a tough open and Baylor is good enough to compete for a Big 12 Championship Game spot.
Whittingham has a real decision to make. You don't want to rush Rising along too soon with the hope of starting the season strong. Utah is within shouting distance of the College Football Playoff, opening the year at No. 14 in the AP Top 25. But two losses to open the season would effectively sink those hopes.
Even if Utah starts 0-2 or 1-1 due to the uncertainty at QB, neither Florida nor Baylor have an impact on the Pac-12 race, where Utah is expected to factor heavily. Whittingham may want to keep Rising sidelined until conference play begins to increase those chances at a title and ensure there are no complications with Rising's return. Plus, there is no guarantee that a limited Rising is a better option than Barnes over those first couple of weeks.
