3 players to watch in UNLV-Arizona football game

UNLV opens its football season at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Arizona, and these are the three key players to watch.

1. Blake Decker, UNLV, quarterback. Yes, the quarterback for either team could be a player to watch each week, but that’s especially true with this game. Decker gets to show if he indeed is capable of successfully running the Rebels’ spread offense, and whether he has the capability of taking UNLV back to the postseason.

2. Anu Solomon, Arizona, quarterback. Like Decker, Solomon makes his first career start, and it’s against his hometown team. The Bishop Gorman High School graduate looks to be Arizona’s quarterback for the next four seasons. That is, if he can produce beginning with this game.

3. Siuea Vaesau, UNLV, defensive end. He will be critical, along with fellow end Josh Shirley on that same side, in trying to contain the Wildcats’ zone-read offense. If Vaesau is successful, the Rebels have a chance to make the game competitive.