Storylines for Arizona football's opener at San Diego State on Saturday

Here are some key storylines as Arizona faces San Diego State Saturday at 12:30 p.m. in the 2022 opener at the Aztecs' new on-campus Snapdragon Stadium:

Transfer QB battles becoming norm

The quarterback battle in the Arizona-San Diego State game features a pair of transfers. This might have been a rare occurrence at one point in time. Now it's commonplace.

An analysis by 247Sports.com this week revealed that 59 of 121 known starters in FBS — 48.8% — had transferred to their current schools. That total includes Arizona's Jayden de Laura and San Diego State's Braxton Burmeister.

No Week 1 matchup illustrated the fluidity and wackiness of the QB market — a byproduct not only of the NCAA transfer portal but the one-time transfer exception enabling immediate eligibility — than Thursday's “Backyard Brawl” between Pitt and West Virginia. The opposing quarterbacks were Kedon Slovis and JT Daniels — former teammates at USC.

The Trojans' new quarterback is Caleb Williams, who transferred from Oklahoma. The only unsettled QB situations in the Pac-12 as of this writing were Colorado and Oregon. If J.T. Shrout and Bo Nix were to win those jobs, only two teams in the conference would open with homegrown quarterbacks: Stanford (Tanner McKee) and UCLA (Dorian Thompson-Robinson).

So it's more likely than not that whomever de Laura faces this season, that signal-caller will be a transfer.

De Laura began his career at Washington State, where he passed for 3,684 yards and 28 touchdowns in 16 games over two seasons. He threw for a career-high for touchdowns and had a personal-best efficiency rating of 208.5 on Nov. 19, 2021, against Arizona.

Less than two months later, after an offensive coordinator change in Pullman, de Laura became a Wildcat.

Burmeister took a far more circuitous route to his current and final college destination. A San Diego-area native, Burmeister verbally committed to Arizona — twice, in fact. He ended up enrolling at Oregon, transferred to Virginia Tech in 2019 and by 2021 had become the Hokies' full-time starter. He was a far more polished player by then, throwing for 1,960 yards, rushing for 521 and accounting for 16 touchdowns. Then Virginia Tech changed coaches, and Burmeister transferred again.

Almost eight years since he first committed to Arizona, Burmeister is facing the Wildcats.

Wildcats will have a fresh look

Arizona's remade football roster features 60 freshmen — 39 true freshmen and 21 redshirts. Fifteen of the former appear on the offensive and defensive depth charts for Week 1. UA coach Jedd Fisch said he expects between seven and 10 to play against San Diego State.

These six players are safe bets to make their debuts as Wildcats: WR Tetairoa McMillan, OG Jonah Savaiinaea, RB Jonah Coleman, RB Rayshon Luke, TE Keyan Burnett, DE Russell Davis II.

These five also have a very good chance to play: WR AJ Jones, WR Kevin Green Jr., DT Jacob Kongaika, CB Ephesians Prysock, CB Tacario Davis.

Fisch's advice for the newcomers?

"Trust your preparation," he said. "They have to understand, the field is the field they've played on ... their whole lives. They have to be able to handle the early wave of adrenaline and emotion that goes into being a young football player for the first time being out there in a Division I program.”

As much as he and his staff like what they've seen so far from the touted Class of 2022, Fisch conceded that he isn't sure what to expect Saturday. Asked if had a specific number of touches in mind for Luke, an explosive all-purpose back, Fisch said:

"Through our process of game-planning during the week, we talk about matchups, and we talk about personnel and how we're going to utilize our personnel for a given game vs. theirs. It's a little bit unique because we've never seen 'Speedy' play a game with us or 'T-Mac' play a game with us or (transfer receiver Jacob) Cowing play a game with us or Jonah Coleman.

"It's tough to really say right now, Week 1, that we're gonna asterisk certain plays for certain guys, because we really have to start getting a feel for who they are."

McMillan and Savaiinaea are slated to start. Burnett could as well, especially if Arizona opens with two tight ends. Savaiinaea will be the first true-freshman offensive lineman to start an opener for Arizona since Donovan Laie in 2018.

DE Jalen Harris on lessons learned, becoming a captain

Jalen Harris is listed at 275 pounds. Arizona's sixth-year defensive end said he's closer to 260. But still: He has completely transformed his body since arriving on campus as a 200-pound freshman in 2017.

Besides putting in the work in the weight room, Harris had to be diligent about his diet.

"I had to force myself to eat when I wasn't hungry," he said.

Harris' go-to: peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

"I'd try to eat two before I go to bed," he said. "And then I'd drink two protein shakes."

The added bulk has made Harris stronger and sturdier at the point of attack. He'll need every bit of it to hold up against San Diego State, which will test Arizona's run defense after rushing for 271 yards in last year's meeting.

Here are some of Harris' thoughts about the opener, his career and being voted one of five team captains:

On the feeling heading into Week 1 now vs. the start of his UA career: “It's a little different because, Year 1, I didn't know what to expect. Now I've been through it. I know what's going on. You still get nervous. But I feel like I'm ready and prepared.”

On what he's learned during his six seasons at Arizona: “I've grown a lot. I've become a man here. I've learned how to deal with adversity. And I know, whatever I do in life, I'll be well prepared for it.”

On the captaincy: “It's an honor. I was selected by my peers. It just tells me that they look to me as a leader, they like to listen to what I have to say and I can lead people in the right directions.”

Siblings reunite on San Diego State defense

The NCAA transfer portal can serve any number of purposes. It can help a player find a new home. It can help a program launch a quick turnaround.

It can also reunite brothers.

In January 2021, Jason Harris transferred from Colorado to Arizona, joining older brother and fellow defensive end Jalen Harris. A year later, San Diego State helped two sets of siblings come together.

The Aztecs' offseason transfer haul included linebacker Cooper McDonald and defensive lineman Justus Tavai. McDonald's older brother, Caden, also a linebacker, is a two-time first-time All-Mountain West Conference selection. Tavai's younger brother, Jonah, has been similarly recognized.

All four players are listed as starters entering Saturday's game.

Cooper McDonald came to SDSU from Washington, where he played the previous two seasons. He appeared in 16 games, including 10 starts, and totaled 25 tackles and one sack.

Justus Tavai spent the previous four seasons at Hawaii. He appeared in 25 games, including 19 starts, and had 72 tackles, four sacks, three fumble recoveries and one forced fumble.

The McDonalds and the Tavais aren't the only sibling duos to don the red and black of SDSU.

Starting cornerback Noah Avinger is the younger brother of reserve running back Lucky Avinger. Caden McDonald's backup, Seyddrick Lakalaka, is the younger brother of former Aztec Ronley Lakalaka. And receiver Brionne Penny is the younger brother of former SDSU star running back Rashaad Penny.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Storylines for Arizona football's opener Saturday at San Diego State