The biggest news of the week for Arizona is the decision by head coach Jedd Fisch to play two quarterbacks in the season opener against BYU. That announcement dominated the discussion Tuesday as Fisch met with the media, but there are other aspects of the team that were addressed as well.

Here is a rundown of some other notes involving the Wildcats as the team begins its preparations for the first game of the season.

Tuesday shortly before Fisch was preparing to speak with the media the Pac-12, ACC and Big Ten announced the formation of an alliance between the three conferences aimed at strengthening the leagues as the SEC continues to expand. The details of what is much more of a handshake agreement than an official partnership are a bit scarce, but the plan includes scheduling games between the schools from all three conferences while keeping the three conferences on the same page regarding major decisions in college athletics.

“The historic alliance announced today between the Pac-12, ACC and Big Ten is grounded in a commitment to our student-athletes,” said Pac-12 Commissioner George Kliavkoff. “We believe that collaborating together we are stronger in our commitment to addressing the broad issues and opportunities facing college athletics.”

On the ground level for the teams involved it should mean increased exposure in different parts of the country, and that is something that has Fisch excited about the cooperation between the leagues and the 41 schools involved.

"Don't know much about it, but certainly excited about the opportunity," Fisch said. "It sounds like there should be a great scheduling alliance in the future, great opportunities to play in all markets, great opportunity to play in all time zones which is always a positive. And excited about the fact that our high school players and high school recruits that'll be coming in can be seen everywhere and play competition from everywhere."

Though the quarterback competition received the most attention throughout training camp there are other battles that remain ongoing with less than a week until the season opener. Arizona has yet to settle on its three starting receivers plus there are ongoing battles at the linebacker spots and along the defensive line. The rotation at those positions is mostly settled, but just who will be starting the game against BYU once Sept. 4 rolls around has yet to be fully decided.

Fisch said Tuesday that Boobie Curry, Tayvian Cunningham and Jalen Johnson continue to battle it out for the third receiver spot with the first unit. Cunningham was one of the top performers during camp, but adding him to a group that is expected to also include Stanley Berryhill III and BJ Casteel would leave the Wildcats with a starting unit built with players shorter than 6-foot-1.

Meanwhile, the UA defensive line has been the position hit hardest by injuries over the last several weeks, but Fisch believes all the key players will be able to return by next week's game. Because so many players have missed time there is still some spots up for grabs.

At linebacker Arizona has numerous new faces involved in the competition for starting jobs leaving the staff to figure out just how to set up the rotation.

"You've got a lot of guys with a lot of things happening," Fisch said after going through the various challenges some of the players have had to deal with throughout camp. "So, there's some battles still going, but I like the way the team is shaping up. I feel really excited about what we'll do the next 10 days."

Freshman tight end Carson Cota was one of the late arriving players for the Wildcats during camp. He joined the team just recently after committing to the program back in the spring. The former three-star prospect had opportunities to play at other programs but ultimately opted to make the move to Arizona from Oregon after wrapping up his senior year of high school.

Cota was able to get on the field briefly after arriving and watching a couple practices, but he has since been removed from the roster. Fisch shed some light on the situation with Cota during Tuesday's chat with the media.

"There was just some personal things that he had to deal with and wanted to deal with," Fisch said. "So I believe he's still enrolled in school, and he's just gonna not be a part of the program for this fall."

Cota is someone who has strong bloodlines with a brother current at UCLA and a dad who played at Oregon. UA tight ends coach Jordan Paopao spoke highly of the newcomer shortly after Cota arrived on campus earlier this month.

"Any time you get a 6-foot-5 kid who's almost 240 pounds right out of high school I think it really stands out in terms of body size," Paopao said. "You look at his tape in high school and he's making catches down the field, he's able to run block and he comes from an extremely athletic family. ... I'm really looking forward to building on that clay."

Cota was not expected to contribute heavily this season with Arizona having established players at the position such as Bryce Wolma, Stacey Marshall and UNLV transfer Alex Lines.

Most of the players who have competed to earn the team's No. 1 jersey have not been revealed throughout camp. Newcomer Kenny Hebert is the lone contender other players have mentioned, but Fisch has made it clear since the start of camp that there are around nine players who hope to wear the number once the season arrives. No player on either side of the ball currently wears that jersey number, and Fisch's competition for the number has yet to be decided.

Fisch declined to reveal the names of the players still involved this week, but he did indicate that there are only three players in the running as of now.

"We're close on that, we should be awarding that on Friday in the team meeting," Fisch said. "... We're at about the three-guy mark, but we're not telling the other six they're not in it anymore. So, don't try to ask. They're competing right now for it, and I believe right now I'm thinking about just giving it to one person.

"Obviously you have the right to give it to an offensive and a defensive player, but right now we'll just see how it finishes up this next week."

****

> DISCUSS the article with other Arizona fans as the Wildcats continue Building The Tradition

> WATCH the latest videos from GOAZCATS.com and subscribe to our YouTube channel

> FOLLOW us on Twitter (@goazcatscom, @MattGOAZCATS, @THutch1995)

> FOLLOW us on Instagram (@goazcats)

> LIKE us on Facebook

> SUBSCRIBE for all the latest Arizona Wildcats team and recruiting news (subscribe now)