Greg McElroy calls Cam Rising a poster child for taking a program to new heights

A consistent name in college football in recent years has been Cam Rising. Injuries lingered throughout his career but when Rising was on the field, Utah found a ton of success. Just ask ESPN’s Greg McElroy, who spent some time praising Rising after a recent retirement announcement.

“I just want to take a moment to acknowledge what Cam Rising meant to the Utah Utes program,” McElroy said. “This is a guy that led Utah to back-to-back Pac-12 Championships. He kept USC out of the College Football Playoff. He led Utah to multiple New Year’s Six bowl games, Rose Bowl, of course. He was the [2021] Pac-12 Championship game MVP.”

McElroy went on to talk about the brilliance of the Rose Bowl between Utah and Ohio State, a game where Rising thrived. He threw for 214 yards and two touchdowns on just 22 attempts while adding another 92 yards on the ground, including a 62-yard touchdown to give the Utes a 35-21 lead in the second quarter.

It’s a game Utah ultimately lost due to the brilliance of Jaxon Smith-Njigba. But playing the Rose Bowl is a pretty special experience for anyone, let alone for a program like Utah. Not too long ago, they were outside of the power conference structure and played the role of a pesky BCS upset program.

Rising may not have been there to get Utah into the power ranks. But McElroy gives the quarterback an immense amount of credit for helping the Utes reach levels never seen in Salt Lake City once there.

“He is one of the poster children of taking a program to new heights,” McElroy said. “And Utah had experienced remarkable success when they were a G5 program in the Mountain West… Utah is one of my favorite programs in the sport. Why? Because they started in a certain spot and everything they gained, they’ve earned.

“Nothing has been given to Utah. It was the product of merit and it was the product of success at a lower level that they then parlayed to play in the Power Five. And it took a little while where they could break through and win a conference championship. They finally did so with Cam Rising at the helm.”

Utah now finds itself a member of the Big 12 and went into the NCAA transfer portal to find its next signal caller. Devon Dampier appears primed to take over after a merry-go-round in 2024.

Rising did not get a big-time send-off after a prolific career for Utah. But McElroy made sure to give him flowers.