San Diego State begins training camp on Wednesday, exactly one month before the Sept. 5 season opener against Portland State.

The Aztecs are coming off a 9-4 season. They have a spring in their step, even a little swagger.

At least the players who are returning do. There are 60 new faces on the 108-man roster.

The experience has flipped to the offense this season after being on the defensive side a year ago.

Seven starters return on offense, while only three starters are back on defense. So plenty of starting and backup roles need to be determined and solidified over the next four weeks.

“There’s a lot of great things that happened last year, but last year’s last year,” SDSU coach Sean Lewis said. “All that great work that we did has positioned us and has rewarded us with more work.

“I think that’s part of one of the biggest lessons that our guys learn under our care. That as you do the work at a high level, the reward is that you get more of it (in the postseason), and the expectations get greater, and more is of expected of you. More is going to be demanded of you, and our guys embrace that.”

Here are five things to watch as practice opens:

1. QB Jayden Denegal

Returning starting quarterback Jayden Denegal is fully recovered from the shoulder surgery that forced him to miss the New Mexico Bowl after starting all 12 regular season games. The staff anticipates that Denegal will perform at a higher level given the fitness and experience of the senior transfer from Michigan.

“From a physical standpoint, he’s starting to look like last year before the injury (in the season opener against Stony Brook) happened, showing everything we were so excited about when we first got him,” said Matt Johnson, SDSU’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. “The biggest jump has been mentally. You see it with all the quarterbacks who have been in our system, the jump from Year 1 to Year 2, when things start to slow down for you and you’re not necessarily thinking about every little thing about your job.”

Despite injuries to both shoulders last year, Denegal still threw a beautiful deep sideline ball. Interestingly enough, he was challenged more on shorter throws.

“The intermediate stuff,” Johnson said. “The ball actually looks like it’s popping out of his hand again.”

Johnson said there were times last season where the ball looked like it was “fluttering” on Denegal.

“You don’t see that anymore,” Johnson said.

Redshirt freshmen Stone Saunders, a Kentucky transfer who impressed during spring ball, and Draiden Trudeau, a walk-on from Mission Viejo High School, are listed as the backups on the depth chart. Freshman Brady Campbell, from Bakersfield’s Frontier High School, has also joined the QB room.

2. The O-line

The Aztecs must replace most of the starters on their offensive line for the second straight season.

It worked well a year ago, with veteran left guard Christian Jones and center Ross Ulugalu-Maseuli joined by transfers who filled out the starting line and added backup depth to make it one of the team’s strongest position groups.

Jones and Ulugalu-Maseuli graduated, So did Dallas Fincher, who could have helped this season but never recovered from a hip injury. Another starting candidate, Saipale Fuimaono, did not receive an additional year of eligibility from the NCAA and has moved on.

The left side of the line is solid with the return of senior starters Joe Borjon, who moves from right to left tackle, and Kalan Ellis, who returns at left guard.

Senior transfer Dennis Jones (Texas Southern) and junior transfer Isaac Lucas (Ball State) came out of spring ball listed first on the depth chart at center and right tackle, respectively. Sophomore Michael Watkins is listed first at right guard.

They will be pushed by sophomore Ikbahl Kassim, redshirt freshman Ashdon Wnetrzak and others — including twins Mercer and Charlton Luniewski, sophomore transfers from Michigan State.

3. On edge

The biggest hit in the transfer portal came at edge rusher, where Trey White (Texas Tech) and Ryan Henderson (Texas A&M) were lured away by Power 4 programs.

Senior Brady Nassar, who had 20 tackles last season, looks to emerge at the position, along with several transfers, including juniors Nate Henrich (Gannon University) and Djibril Rahman (Rutgers) and senior Kai Wallin (Oregon State), who was slowed in the spring by an arm injury.

Their efforts should be aided by the presence inside of returning starting defensive lineman Malachi Finau and senior transfer nose Gavriel Lightfoot (Colorado), who impressed during the spring.

4. Last line of defense

SDSU lost four of its five starting defensive backs to graduation and transfers. The biggest loss was cornerback Chris Johnson, a first-round pick of the Miami Dolphins in this year’s NFL Draft.

The lone returning starter, safety Dalesean Staley, briefly entered the portal, decided to return, but suffered a knee injury in the spring that will sideline him for the season.

That means an entirely new starting cast, making safety and cornerback the most competitive position groups in camp.

The top candidates to start at cornerback are senior returner Jelani Whitmore, senior transfer Jason Oliver (Sacramento State) and sophomore transfers Jamison Starks (Foothill Community College), Mike Lindsay (Idaho State) and Caleb Ricks (Idaho).

Senior Josiah Cox, junior Jelani McLaughlin and sophomore transfer Isiah Green (Portland State) came out of spring ball listed first on the depth chart at safety, though senior returners Josh Hunter and Max Garrison and junior transfers Jalen Thomeson (Ohio University) and Solomon Davis (Oregon) will be among those pushing for playing time.

5. The kicker

The kicking situation has not been this unsettled in more than a decade.

Sophomore Nick Clegg was the heir apparent to Gabe Plascencia, the school’s career leader in field goal accuracy. But Clegg struggled in spring ball and left the program before the workouts concluded.

That left senior transfer Cooper DiLeva, who spent last season at Arkansas but did not see the field.

Senior transfer Noah Serna (Cal Poly) was brought in over the summer and is listed first on the depth chart coming into camp. Serna, a Riverside native, was 8-for-11 on field goals last season with a long of 40 yards.

The kicking competition is expected to be primarily between Serna and DiLeva, although junior transfer Lane Garner (Butte College) and freshman transfer Tyler Prasuhn (Carlsbad High School/Arizona) also are listed at the position.

Senior Tashi Dorje secured the starting punting role in the spring as the replacement for all-Mountain West punter Hunter Green, who transferred to Washington.