Kyle Whittingham and Utah hit the bye in Week 6 with a banged-up roster looking for some relief. The injuries continued to pile up with quarterback Bryson Barnes leaving the Oregon State loss and being escorted to the hospital.

During a Tuesday media scrum, Whittingham updated the outlook for Week 7 in regard to the QB depth chart. As things currently stand, Nate Johnson would be the starter while Whittingham pointed to Brandon Rose and Luke Bottari as the options for backup.

Of course, things could change significantly if Cam Rising is cleared, but Whittingham did not have an update there on Tuesday.

“Backup to be determined. Nate obviously would be the guy, but the backup will be — we’re getting down,” said Whittingham. “We’ve got Brandon Rose and Luke Bottari left to fill the backup. It would be one of those guys.”

Whittingham was asked for clarification about Rose after the player was injured in fall camp and has not played yet this season. The head coach said the program is trying to redshirt Rose but noted the QB might have to play if the injury situation does not improve.

“He may have to, yeah, due to not having anyone available. We’re trying to redshirt him, which we still can,” Whittingham explained. “You know you get 4 games, so he’s got plenty of cushion there. We’ll just have to see who’s available on Monday.”

Barnes started Utah’s first two games of the season before giving way to Johnson. After some struggles against Oregon State, Whittingham once again turned to Barnes before his injury.

Johnson is currently the team’s leading passer with 499 yards and 6 total touchdowns while completing 54.2% of his passes. However, the big hole is undoubtedly Rising as the program waits to learn if he will be cleared anytime soon.