Tom Herman is looking to rebuild the Texas Longhorns back to being a legitimate National Championship contender each and every year. He may have his work cut out for him, but landing a commitment from four-star 2018 quarterback Cameron Rising was a big step in the right direction.
Rising is currently rated as the No. 3 pro-style quarterback in the 2018 recruiting class, while also being ranked as the No. 52 player in the nation. Both of those rankings speak to Rising’s talent and what he has the capability of bringing to the Longhorns.
Texas was not the first commitment that Rising made on his journey to becoming a Longhorn. Originally, he had been committed to the Oklahoma Sooners, but Herman and company were able to pry him away. There is certainly no love lost between the Longhorns and Sooners, but Rising will have the opportunity to make Oklahoma fans wish their team could have kept him soon enough.
Standing in at 6-foot-2 and 209 pounds, Rising comes from Newbury Park High School in Newbury Park, California. So far this season in five games as a senior, according to his Max Preps page, Rising has completed 58.7 percent of his passes for 1,017 yards, nine touchdowns, and three interceptions. He has also picked up 319 yards and eight touchdowns on the ground.
Hook Em'!! ?? pic.twitter.com/7jIhcN4h9J
— KONG ? (@crising7) April 22, 2017
Needless to say, the Longhorns might have gotten themselves a big piece of their rebuild in Rising. He has star potential and will be given every chance by Herman and the Texas coaching staff to earn the starting job when he arrives to campus.
Our very own Evan Massey had the chance to talk with Rising about his commitment to Texas and many other things. First and foremost, finding out why Rising decided to take his talents to Texas was the topic of conversation.
“I went and it was just amazing. Location is amazing, academics are good, and coach Herman is the man!”
When asked how he would describe his game to fans who may not have had a chance to watch him play yet, Rising took a humble approach.
“I would tell them they have to ask someone else (laughs). I don’t like talking about myself.”
Texas is one of the most storied college football programs in the country. At one point, they were considered a championship contender every year. Rising would like to help the Longhorns get back to that point and talked about what he can bring to the table to help that happen.
“I’m hoping that I can add another leader to the team and just be another guy that will push others to get better so that we can get back on top.”
As for his biggest strengths and weaknesses at this point in his career, Rising had honest answers for both.
“Biggest strengths would be accuracy and ability to extend plays. Weakness would have to be escaping the pocket too early on occasion.”
Coach Herman is known for motivating players and helping take players to new levels. We asked Rising what Herman had told him and what his expectations were for Rising moving forward.
“He told me that he expects me to come in and have a legitimate chance to play early. He wants me to help bring Texas back to what it once was.”
Every fan likes to hear comparisons of young quarterbacks to a current player that they have watched. It is never easy to compare players, but Rising mentioned one current NFL superstar as a player that he likes to take some things from.
“I like watching Aaron Rodgers. I try to do some thngs that he does on the field.”
Rising had advice for young players hoping to make Division-I football, while also sharing his story of when he realized that he was a legitimate college football talent.
“I realized that I had D-1 talent on September 28, 2015 when I received my first offer. The advice I would give a young quarterback is, prove it on the field on Friday nights week in and week out. There is no substitute for good play on the field.”
He has had a lot of people help him get to this point in his career. Rising took a minute to thank people in his life for helping him get this far.
“It hasn’t just been one person. It has pretty much been a small village, because I have been blessed with people that have been able to help with all the different aspects of the game.”
In closing, Rising sent a message to Longhorns’ fans about his goals for his Texas career and a brief one-word statement.
“My team goals are to win National Championships. My individual goals are to compete every day for my teammates. Hook Em!”
Needless to say, Rising has a bright future with the Texas Longhorns. He will have competition at the quarterback position when he gets there, but there is no denying his potential.
We would like to thank Cameron for taking time to do this interview and we encourage you to follow him on Twitter at @crising7. Make sure to follow Evan Massey on Twitter as well at @massey_evan. Thanks for reading and we hope you enjoyed this exclusive content!