Young Kwak

By Andrew Greif, The Oregonian/OregonLive

The unofficial kickoff to the 2018 Pac-12 football season is July 25 in Hollywood.

All 12 conference head coaches and two selected star players per team will gather that day at Hollywood & Highland in Los Angeles for interviews to begin the discussion of the upcoming season. The one-day format is a change from years past, when the event was held over two.

For players and coaches, media day isn’t spent solely listening to hundreds of questions from reporters. They also film promotional videos for the Pac-12 Network, eat a buffet lunch and meet their peers from around the conference. A lucky few even get to leave the fifth-floor ballroom and stroll Hollywood Boulevard’s walk of fame for a bit.

Among those taking the trip this summer will be numerous stars, some of whom have already garnered a place in the Heisman Trophy discussion: Oregon quarterback Justin Herbert, Arizona quarterback Khalil Tate and Stanford running back Bryce Love.

And in addition to first-year coaches Mario Cristobal of Oregon and Jonathan Smith of Oregon State, another coach new to his program will surely grab attention — UCLA's Chip Kelly, the former star coach with the Ducks.

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The schedule of events

8:00 a.m.: Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott Opening Remarks

8:30-11:30 a.m.: Pac-12 North Division Head Coaches and Student-Athletes (order to be determined): CALIFORNIA, OREGON, OREGON STATE, STANFORD, WASHINGTON, WASHINGTON STATE

11:30 a.m.–noon: Q&A with Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott

1:00-4 p.m.: Pac-12 South Division Head Coaches and Student-Athletes (order to be determined): ARIZONA, ARIZONA STATE, COLORADO, UCLA, USC, UTAH

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Who's coming?

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CALIFORNIA - Head Coach Justin Wilcox, Patrick Laird (RB), Jordan Kunaszyk (ILB)

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David Zalubowski

Wilcox, a Junction City native who played collegiately at Oregon, went 5-7 in his first season in Berkeley.

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Kunaszyk tied for third in the Pac-12 with 8.2 tackles per game last season.

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OREGON - Head Coach Mario Cristobal, Justin Herbert (QB), Jalen Jelks (DL)

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Chris Pietsch/AP

Mario Cristobal takes over for his first full season as UO head coach. He spent last season as a co-offensive coordinator and was promoted to head coach following Willie Taggart's departure for Florida State after one season in Eugene. The Ducks lost to Boise State in the Las Vegas Bowl in their first game under Cristobal.

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Sean Meagher/The Oregonian

UO defensive lineman Jalen Jelks recorded a team-best 15 tackles for loss and tied for fourth with 59 tackles overall.

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Andy Nelson/Register-Guard

Oregon quarterback Justin Herbert has the fourth-highest odds to win the Heisman Trophy in 2018, according to odds released in June by Las Vegas' Westgate Superbook.

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OREGON STATE - Head Coach Jonathan Smith, Blake Brandel (OL), Kee Whetzel (OLB)

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Andy Cripe/Corvallis Gazette-Times

Jonathan Smith enters his first season as Oregon State coach, returning to the place where his coaching career began as a graduate assistant in 2003.

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Ben Margot

Kee Whetzel appeared in 12 games as a redshirt freshman in 2017 and recorded 26 tackles at outside linebacker.

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Godofredo Vasquez

Offensive lineman Blake Brandel (right) has started a team-high 24 consecutive games and has twice been honored as a Pac-12 all-academic selection.

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STANFORD - Head Coach David Shaw, Bryce Love (RB), Alijah Holder (CB)

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Ben Margot

Stanford coach David Shaw (right) meets with Chip Kelly in 2016, back when Kelly was the coach of the San Francisco 49ers. Stanford and UCLA, Kelly's new program, will play in the regular-season finale Nov. 24 in Pasadena, Calif.

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Stanford's Bryce Love was the Heisman Trophy runner-up last season after rushing for 2,118 yards and 19 touchdowns as a junior.

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WASHINGTON - Head Coach Chris Petersen, Jake Browning (QB), Jojo McIntosh (DB)

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Elaine Thompson

Washington head coach Chris Petersen is 37-17 in four seasons.

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Elaine Thompson

Entering his senior season Jake Browning has thrown for 9,104 career yards and 78 touchdowns with 24 interceptions. His 2,719 yards last season were a career low.

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WASHINGTON STATE - Head Coach Mike Leach, Kyle Sweet (WR/P), Jalen Thompson (S)

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Young Kwak

Mike Leach's teams have finished 9-4, 8-5 and 9-4 in the past three seasons.

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Jalen Thompson earned second-team all-defense honors last season in the Pac-12 as a defensive back.

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ARIZONA - Head Coach Kevin Sumlin, Khalil Tate (QB), Colin Schooler (LB)

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Mike Christy

New Arizona coach Kevin Sumlin enters his first season after being fired following six seasons and a 51-26 record at Texas A&M. He follows the fired Rich Rodriguez in Tucson.

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Arizona QB Khalil Tate was a semifinalist for the Maxwell and Davey O'Brien awards last season after entering as the starter partway through the schedule before rushing for 1,411 yards and 12 touchdowns while adding 14 passing touchdowns, as well.

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After 88 total tackles, Colin Schooler was named the top defensive freshman in the conference. He is the brother of Ducks wide receiver Brenden Schooler.

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ARIZONA STATE - Head Coach Herm Edwards, Manny Wilkins (QB), N'Keal Harry (WR)

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A former NFL defensive back and coach, Herm Edwards had been working in broadcasting for years until he was hired as Arizona State's coach this offseason. He follows the fired Todd Graham. Edwards hasn't coached in nearly 30 years.

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Mark Lambie

N'Keal Harry led the Pac-12 in averages receiving yards (87.8) and catches (6.3) last season as a sophomore.

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Sean Meagher

Arizona State quarterback Manny Wilkins earned honorable mention all-conference honors last season.

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COLORADO - Head Coach Mike MacIntyre, Steven Montez (QB), Rick Gamboa (ILB)

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Thomas Boyd

Colorado head coach Mike MacIntyre will lean on quarterback Steven Montez quite a bit in 2018 following a 2-7 record in conference play last season.

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Gamboa earned honorable mention all-conference honors last season.

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UCLA - Head Coach Chip Kelly, Theo Howard (WR), Josh Woods (LB)

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John Marshall Associated Press

Chip Kelly takes over at UCLA for his first season back in the Pac-12 since leaving Oregon in 2013, after four seasons of unprecedented success.

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Howard caught 56 passes for 594 yards and four touchdowns as a sophomore.

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USC - Head Coach Clay Helton, Cameron Smith (ILB), Porter Gustin (OLB)

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Sam Darnold elected to skip his senior season and enter the NFL draft, leaving the Trojans with a question at quarterback entering 2018 for coach Clay Helton.

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Robert Gauthier

Cameron Smith is one of two defensive players arriving from USC. Smith was a second-team all-conference pick as a sophomore before earning first-team honors last season as a junior.

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Gustin, another USC linebacker, missed part of last season after surgery on a foot but is back for 2018.

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UTAH - Head Coach Kyle Whittingham, Chase Hansen (LB), Lo Falemaka (OL)

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Whittingham has won double-digit games once in the past seven seasons but has a 66.5 winning percentage overall in his career.

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Offensive lineman Lo Falemaka earned honorable mention all-conference honors last season.