Utah football injury report before kickoff against Arizona State

TEMPE, Arizona – Kyle Whittingham and his Utah football program traveled south for a Friday night game against the Arizona State Sun Devils.

The Utes have dealt with some serious injuries this season, but the bye week came at a good time to recover. Still, here's the latest on the Utes' injury situation.

Utah vs. Arizona State

Game information

Location: Mountain America Stadium

TV: ESPN

Rado: AM 700

SLC ✈️ PHX#GoUtes pic.twitter.com/CFOr2HcQMX

— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) October 10, 2024

Will Utah's Cam Rising return from injury and start?

According to Brett McMurphy of ActionNetwork, Cam Rising will face Arizona State.

According to everyone else who has followed Utah football over the last few weeks, they'll believe it when they see it. Given Utah's willingness to make decisions until the final minutes before kickoff, there remains significant concern about the report.

However, sources have told KSL Sports that unless something unforeseen happens, Rising will return tonight. Sources also provided updates throughout the week. Rising took most, if not all, of the valuable reps between practices on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

Sources provided encouraging updates throughout the week and @Brett_McMurphy has reported that Cam Rising will be back in action this Friday evening. #GoUtes
LINK: https://t.co/bDHb6k2xTJ pic.twitter.com/czX2GaqLAg

— Steve Bartle (@BartleKSLsports) October 10, 2024

Utah's depth along the defensive line was tested

Defensive player Connor O'Toole suffered an injury relatively early against Utah State. He left this game and has not yet returned to action. Unfortunately, O'Toole is still expected to be unavailable tonight.

He won't be the only starting defensive lineman out of action tonight. Defensive tackle Keanu Tanuvasa is also expected to miss the game.

Aliki Vimahi remains unavailable, so look for true freshman Dallas Vakalahi to start in his place while Simote Pepa comes on.

Utah is getting thin at linebacker

Utah veteran LB Karene Reid suffered an injury near the end of the Baylor game and has been out of action since. He's close to a return but isn't ready to take the field back just yet.

The linebacker depth has suffered some setbacks with Reid and Levani Damuni. That list now includes Sione Fotu, who is unlikely to be available for tonight's competition.

So it will largely be up to Hall, Lander Barton and Trey Reynolds to patrol the middle.

Steve Bartle is the Utah insider for KSL Sports. He hosts the Utah Blockcast (SUBSCRIBE) and appears on KSL Sports Zone to beat the Utes. You can follow him on X for the latest Utah updates and game analysis.

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