SALT LAKE CITY — Utah quarterback and Texas Longhorns transfer Cameron Rising will be facing his former team in the state where he used to attend school. The Utes play the Longhorns in the Alamo Bowl on New Year’s Eve in San Antonio, and Rising is excited to take on his friends and former school.
“I wasn’t expecting it. I didn’t know because I knew there was going to be a tie-in with the Big 12,” he said. “I saw that and was excited to be playing some of the guys that I know. It’s going to be fun to see them on the field again and I just look forward to competing against them.”
Rising keeps in touch with some friends on Texas and is looking forward to spending time with them and maybe playing against them at the Alamodome.
“I’ve talked to them, we’ve talked about hanging out in San Antonio. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen any of those guys, so I’m looking forward to that.” — Utah quarterback Cameron Rising on catching up with some of his Longhorn friends
“I’ve talked to them, we’ve talked about hanging out in San Antonio. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen any of those guys, so I’m looking forward to that,” Rising said.
Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said Rising is eligible to play in the bowl game. Per NCAA transfer rules, a transfer from a four-year university has to complete an academic year in residence before becoming eligible. Utah’s finals finished Friday, so Rising is good to go for the Alamo Bowl.
“He’s eligible for the game because you have to sit out one year and that year has expired come bowl time,” Whittingham said.
Rising, a 6-foot-1, 233-pound four-star quarterback from California with an arm beyond his age, signed with Texas out of high school after being offered by many blue-blood programs, including Alabama, LSU and Michigan. Rising redshirted his freshman year at Texas before transferring to Utah.
“It wasn’t a good fit for me, so I just figured I better move on and just start over, start new. That was pretty much the process,” Rising said.
Rising insists he harbors no ill will toward Texas.
“It was good, they’ve got some good people, a lot of guys that I still consider close friends over there. It wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t the right fit for me, that’s it,” he said.
After entering the transfer portal, Rising visited Utah and fell in love with the school.
“I came here on a visit and it was different than anything I had. I had Brant Kuithe host me and we really kicked it off and it just felt like a good place,” Rising said.
After transferring to Utah, the NCAA did not approve Rising’s waiver for immediate eligibility, which forced Rising to the practice squad for the season.
“It’s been good. It’s kind of sucked being on the scout team, but it is what it is — just trying to make the most of it and get better each day and continue to develop as a football player,” Rising said.
“We’re going to have some great talent in the room, so it’s going to be fun competing. I’m excited to see how it plays out.” — Cameron Rising on the quarterback competition that will take place next season
Being on the scout team had its benefits for Rising, who said going against a great defense like Utah’s every day in practice helped him a lot.
With Tyler Huntley graduated, Rising will compete for the starting quarterback job with junior Jason Shelley, who filled in for Huntley in 2018 and helped lead the Utes to the Pac-12 championship game by beating Oregon and BYU, South Carolina graduate transfer Jake Bentley, who threw for 3,171 yards, 27 touchdowns and 14 interceptions during his junior year before his senior season was cut short due to an injury in the season opener, and senior Drew Lisk. Baylor quarterback transfer Peyton Powell would have to receive a waiver from the NCAA to be eligible next year.
“We’re going to have some great talent in the room, so it’s going to be fun competing. I’m excited to see how it plays out,” Rising said.
Whittingham said the Utes won’t ask Rising to reveal too many specifics about Texas ahead of the game.
“We don’t pump him for information or anything, it’s more just the culture of the team and that type of thing rather than specifics,” Whittingham said.
Utes on the air
2019 Alamo Bowl
No. 11 Utah (10-2)
vs. Texas (7-5)
Alamodome, San Antonio
Dec. 31, 5:30 p.m. (MT)
TV: ESPN
Radio: ESPN 700 AM