Football season is right around the corner and a month from Wednesday it will finally be time for Arizona to take the field for its second season under head coach Jedd Fisch. There will be 24 practices between now and then to get the Wildcats ready for a challenging nonconference schedule beginning with a road matchup against San Diego State on Sept. 3.

Fisch spoke to reporters from across the league last week at Pac-12 Media Day, but he met with Tucson reporters Tuesday to preview camp and address some of the important topics about his team going into the fall.

Here's a rundown of what Fisch had to say during his 25-minute press conference on Tuesday.

Arizona has some new weapons on offense this season led by Jacob Cowing and Tetairoa McMillan at the receiver position. Throw in players like Keyan Burnett at tight end and Speedy Luke and Jonah Coleman at running back, and Fisch will be able to try some different things with the talent upgrade. Adding a successful and proven quarterback will only help strengthen what the offense will be capable of this fall.

Because of the influx of talent, Fisch says to expect some different looks this month as the team begins working on putting together its plan for the season.

"We're not gonna live under center, by any means," he said Tuesday. "So, our goal is to figure out what it's gonna take to move the football, and we're gonna run that offense. You'll see a lot of changes out here in camp. I'm really excited to see what our staff has put together. I think they've done a great job of coming up with a great plan on how we're gonna move the ball."

Coaches mostly have to stay away from players throughout the summer months, so it is up to strength coach Tyler Owens and the strength staff to make sure the players are prepared for the upcoming season through work in the weight room. Arizona is going to rely on several newcomers across the field, so getting those players in condition was always going to be key once spring ball came to an end.

Fisch is happy with how much progress several players made through the summer as they worked out with Owens and his staff.

"With the amount of speed work and strength work that our kids have gone through in the last seven-week program, they just look bigger and stronger," Fisch said. "A guy like T-Mac has gained 18 pounds since he's been here. Jayden de Laura has gained 24 pounds. So, there's been significant gains as well as significant drops of weight. Big Jonah [Savaiinaea] has probably dropped about 10 pounds or so, 15 pounds. Turned it into muscle. ... Now, we have to go play football."

Unlike last year when Fisch was unsure of who would end up contributing at many positions on the field, Arizona has some direction at many positions. At this point the starting receiver unit is set with McMillan, Cowing and Dorian Singer plus the quarterback spot seems to be settled at this stage. Up front, the Wildcats have a number of returning players, and that will be key for the Wildcats to have success offensively in 2022.

The offensive line certainly had to go through its battles in recent years and has been the focus of plenty of negativity in that time. UA added a key piece with Savaiinaea emerging as an option in his first spring with the team. Right now he is slated to be the starting right guard.

Fisch is not being secretive about that group noting that Jordan Morgan, Josh Donovan, Josh Baker and Paiton Fears will all be part of the first unit. After that, UA is still searching for its options.

"It's a great process to be able to get those guys to develop and grow and fundamentally improve," Fisch said. "... I feel very good about our guys [in] that core group, but I also recognize that you can't really rely on just five at the offensive line. So, we're really going through the process currently of figuring out who are our players that can add depth to our program and get ourselves to where we want to be."

Fisch noted that freshman Jacob Reece, who was forced to miss spring ball because of a health issue, has been cleared to participate in practice. Expected starting center Josh Baker will be on a "pitch count" early as he goes through camp after returning from offseason surgery.

Veteran linebacker Jerry Roberts is working back from an injury late in the season while Malik Reed missed most of the spring while dealing with his own injury issues. Behind those players there is a lot of youth at the linebacker spots leaving Arizona in position where some new faces could emerge over the next month. Ammon Allen was put on scholarship this offseason, and he could factor into the picture as could Kolbe Cage. Plus UA has freshmen such as Jacob Manu and Tyler Martin on the team now as well.

It all means Fisch will be watching that group closely in the coming weeks.

"I'm really interested to see where our linebackers shake out," he said. "Right now our linebacking crew is young. ... There's a lot of moving parts with that inside linebacker group. Really looking forward to where that one shakes out."

Running back is another position that remains a bit undecided. Florida State transfer DJ Williams is now on campus and ready to showcase his abilities as a veteran back while the Wildcats already have a large group of returners including starter Michael Wiley. Freshmen Jonah Coleman and Rayshon "Speedy" Luke could also make some noise.

"You only get to play one," Fisch said. "It's one of those unique positions where you could have a pretty good room, but you don't know because only one guy can tote the rock. So, we're gonna have to figure out that process of determining who's going to be our running back next year. How many will we play? From there, we're gonna figure out what that's gonna look like."

Arizona unveiled its newly-renovated locker room on Monday, and the players certainly displayed plenty of excitement about the rejuvenated digs. Donor Doug Allred funded the project, and Fisch tried to keep the upgrades under wraps throughout the summer.

"First of all, I was so appreciative of Doug Allred and his family for their donation to make it happen," Fisch said. "They paid for the entire locker room. We were able to get the locker room done in let's call it 120 days, 90 days from start to finish. From money to them moving into it yesterday. Their reaction was awesome.

"They knew the locker room has been closed. I kind of tried to trick them and tell them it was because the field crew was using it putting in the new field. When they did walk in there I don't think they were expecting anything that looked like that. It's state of the art, and they did a great job."

Arizona opens training camp on Wednesday at 10 a.m. MST.

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