Kyle Whittingham isn’t going into detail on Utah quarterback Cameron Rising’s leg injury, but he admitted in a recent interview with The Athletic that it’ll require a lengthy rehab process.

Rising suffered the injury in the Utes’ Rose Bowl loss to Penn State earlier this month. For the second straight season, he was knocked out of the game. Shortly after, he announced his intention to return in 2023.

Whittingham says he’ll be limited in the offseason, but the expectation is that he’s ready to go when the season opens.

“It’s a leg injury. It’s going to be a fairly extensive rehab,” Whittingham told The Athletic. “He will not be able to participate in spring, but we expect him to be ready for the season opener.”

That game — against the Florida Gators — could come on either Thursday, Aug. 31, or Saturday, Sept. 2. When the Pac-12 released its schedule for the 2023 season on Wednesday, the date of Utah’s opener was still not finalized.

It’s certainly encouraging that Utah expects to have its leader to open the year.

Rising has helped the Utes claim back-to-back Pac-12 titles. They’ll be gunning for a third consecutive — something that hasn’t been done in the Pac-12 era yet — in 2023, and they’ll need Rising to be at his best.

Utah faces all five of the other Pac-12 teams that ended the year ranked in the AP Top 25. In the first five weeks of the season, it’ll face Florida at home, a tough Baylor team in Waco, UCLA at home, and then Oregon State on the road.

USC, Oregon, and Washington come later. There’s no reprieve.

Utah will also look to hold onto first-year quarterback Nate Johnson, who flashed in a limited role in 2022. He’ll battle with Bryson Barnes in spring ball when there will be first-team reps to go around.