As Cam Rising warmed up ahead of Utah’s big game at Oklahoma State, he had a lot of eyes on him.

Everyone was focused on Rising during pre-game warmups, from fans in the crowd at Boone Pickens Stadium to media members and, most importantly, Utah’s coaches.

Utah’s veteran quarterback, who is recovering from a right ring finger injury suffered in the Utes’ Week 2 win over Baylor, underwent an early warm-up with a glove on his throwing hand about 90 minutes before the game. He looked relatively good throwing the ball, even from distances of more than 40 yards, and 40 minutes before kickoff took snaps in padded warmups from starting center Jaren Kump.

Rising appeared to be on track to see his first action in six quarters, but during those final warmups, Utah’s coaches didn’t see what they needed from Rising as his finger injury affected the speed he could put on the ball .

“Not enough speed on the ball. Plain and simple, he just couldn’t turn the way he needed to and just couldn’t handle the ball,” Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said.

Although Rising was cleared by doctors to play on Saturday because they sat together about 20 minutes before kickoff, the Utah coaching staff decided that a fully healthy Wilson would give the Utes the best chance to win Rising, who won the couldn’t throw the ball like his usual self.

That says a lot about how much confidence this coaching staff has in Wilson. If this scenario had happened last year, I think Utah would have gone with Rising even if his speed wasn’t where it needed to be.

Rising got the majority of the first-team snaps early in the week, with Wilson taking a few as well, but midway through the week, as Rising’s ball throwing issues emerged, the plan switched to Wilson to take the ball. the majority of the first team representatives.

“I’ve given Cam some time off later in the week to see if we can get him feeling better and then test him before the game,” Whittingham said.

When Rising failed pregame testing, it was on Wilson’s shoulders to — on short notice — lead Utah in its biggest game yet, a crucial Big 12 opener that could have an impact on the conference title race.

In Utah’s 22-19 win, its first ever in the Big 12 Conference, Wilson threw for 207 yards and a touchdown, completing 17 of 29 passes while being picked off twice.

There was the bad – Utah had to finish more drives with touchdowns, Wilson had some missed reads and errant throws, and of course the two interceptions – but the positives outweighed the negatives, especially considering the situation he was put into.

The touchdown against tight end Brant Kuithe was a bright spot, and just as he did against Utah State, Wilson settled in during the second quarter, completing 9 of 10 passes during a stretch. He has shown the ability to make high-level throws that are above his experience level, and despite the interceptions, Wilson never looked unsettled at any point in the game.

That confidence and ability to shake off bad play is an intangible thing that is extremely important.

‘He has the ‘it’ factor. For a quarterback, that is so crucial. You have to have the guy who has that ‘it’ factor, that leadership and the players really feel it. They enjoy playing for him. I mean, they have a lot of confidence in him and he’s fearless,” Whittingham said.

Wilson’s best plays Saturday came on the ground, where he converted three third- or fourth-down attempts with his legs, including a 48-yard scramble on third-and-11 that showed off his speed.

“He’s an excellent runner,” Whittingham said.

Although he led only one touchdown drive, Wilson put the Utes in position to score field goals and helped them dominate the time of possession (42:26 to 17:34) and on a day when the Utes’ defense was largely dominant was, that was also the case. good enough for Utah to win.

However, in the future, more drives should end in the end zone.

“Production in the Red Zone is not enough. Offensively we dropped points again and that will catch up with us if we don’t correct that and get better in the red zone,” said Whittingham.

With the 4-0 and No. 10 Utes hosting Arizona this Saturday in a “Big 12 After Dark” game, the question that has lingered about the program and its fan base is relevant again.

Who will start at quarterback on Saturday?

Rising is cleared by the doctors to play and wants to play. If Rising can throw the ball well enough in practices and warmups and Utah coaches feel he has healed enough to play at the level they expect him to, Rising will return to the field.

“I think we’re past the point where you have to worry about another injury or something like that,” Whittingham said, pausing and then, “Hopefully. Knock on wood.”

While Utah is clearly hoping Rising is back under center this week, if not, Wilson has made enough progress for Whittingham to feel comfortable as a freshman. The entire menu of games is virtually available to Wilson, and while Rising has more control over the playbook thanks to his experience, Whittingham said the game plan will be similar no matter who starts.

While the offensive game plan would likely be a little more pass-heavy if Rising were to play, Whittingham and Ludwig have given Wilson plenty of opportunities to throw the ball in the last two games.

“There’s not really much, as much difference as you would think in the play-calling or the game plan based on who’s playing quarterback. Now, that was three weeks ago, but this week it was very similar, not exact, but very close to what Cam would have available to him,” Whittingham said.

Whether it’s Wilson or Rising at quarterback against Arizona on Saturday, the Utes just hope it isn’t another mid-game decision.

“Hopefully he’s further ahead, and if so, maybe the picture will become clear sooner. So I can’t give you an answer right now until we see him throw again,” Whittingham said.