Arizona football continues to build defense, offensive line in the transfer portal

Arizona is approaching a roughly 20-player transfer portal class, after ending the weekend with a trio of additions in the transfer portal. 

The Wildcats added San Jose State offensive tackle Nate Hale, Charlotte cornerback Dwight Bootle II and USC linebacker Matai Tagoa'i. 

Hale, who signed to play for Arizona head coach Brent Brennan at San Jose State in 2023, is also reuniting with Arizona offensive line coach Josh Oglesby, who recruited Hale to SJSU and coached him for a season.  

The 6-5, 295-pound Hale, who was also offered by UCLA, has two years of eligibility and is the latest San Jose State player to play for Brennan at Arizona.  

Other players to transfer from San Jose State to Arizona since Brennan was hired by the UA in January 2024 include defensive end Tre Smith, tight end Sam Olson, cornerbacks Michael Dansby and Jay'Vion Cole (who played one season at Texas prior to signing with Arizona), running back Quali Conley, offensive lineman Ryan Stewart and quarterback Anthony Garcia. Arizona linebacker Jabari Mann was signed to play for Brennan at San Jose State, but was released due to the coaching change and followed Brennan to Tucson. 

Hale prepped at Orange Lutheran High School in Orange, California. He redshirted as a freshman before contributing to special teams in 2024 and then starting at right tackle in 10 games during the 2025 season.

Hale, who joins Washington center Zachary Henning as offensive line additions for Arizona in the transfer portal, bolsters Arizona's tackle spots following the loss of starting left tackle Ty Buchanan and right tackle Tristan Bounds, who was sidelined the final three games of the season with a leg injury. After Buchanan exited Arizona's loss to SMU in the Holiday Bowl, redshirt sophomore Rhino Tapa'atoutai replaced the starter at left tackle — opposite side of redshirt freshman right tackle Matthew Lado. 

Tapa'atoutai, who was Arizona's starter at left tackle in 2024 before suffering a season-ending knee injury halfway through the season, and Lado are both set to return to the Wildcats in 2026. Lado and Tapa'atoutai played both right and left tackle this past season. 

The UA coaches are also encouraged with the development of tackle Louis Akpa, a 6-6, 280-pound redshirt freshman from San Francisco. Other tackles on Arizona's roster are freshman and Phoenix-area native Jaxon Griffin and walk-on Zarius Wells.

Bootle, a 5-10, 180-pound Miami native, started his career at Nebraska and played two seasons for the Cornhuskers before transferring to Charlotte, where he was a starter in 2025. 

Bootle had 38 tackles and a pass deflection for the 49ers this past season. 

Bootle, who took an official visit this weekend, is among the several pickups at defensive back for Arizona this offseason, along with Nebraska safety Malcolm Hartzog, Wyoming cornerback Tyrese Boss, Northern Colorado safety Cam Chapa and Fresno College transfer Brandon Holmes. 

Arizona is bolstering the secondary following the departures of veterans Treydan Stukes, Dalton Johnson and Genesis Smith — who combined for 6,700 defensive snaps at the UA — along with Dansby and cornerback Ayden Garnes. The Wildcats also had safety Jack Luttrell, cornerback Gianni Edwards and Marquis Groves-Killebrew — who started six games for UA in 2024 — enter the transfer portal. 

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The Wildcats beat out Florida State in the Tagoa'i sweepstakes. Tagoa'i left USC after one season with the Trojans. Tagoa'i, who mostly played special teams, had four tackles in eight game appearances for USC. Tagoa'i and wide receiver DJ Jordan are both signing with Arizona after being at USC in 2025. 

The 6-4, 205-pound Tagoa'i prepped at San Clemente High School in San Clemente, California, and signed with the hometown Trojans as a four-star prospect last year. Tagoa'i played in the 2025 Polynesian Bowl. 

As a high school prospect, Tagoa'i also held offers from Alabama, BYU, Miami, Georgia, Arizona, Washington, Oklahoma, Michigan and Auburn, among others. He was rated by 247Sports.com as the 14th-best linebacker nationally for the 2025 recruiting class. 

Tagoa'i joins Everett Roussaw (Memphis) and Cooper Blomstrom (Georgetown) as linebackers in Arizona's transfer portal class.

The 6-3, 230-pound Roussaw started his career at UAB in 2023 and played two seasons under former head coach and Super Bowl-winning quarterback Trent Dilfer, who was fired in October after two-plus seasons at the helm. 

At UAB, Roussaw played in 23 games and made eight starts as a true freshman. He recorded 125 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, four sacks and two fumble recoveries. 

The Atlanta native transferred to Memphis and had 64 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, two forced fumbles, four pass breakups and an interception in his lone year with the Tigers. 

Blomstrom played defensive end at Georgetown, but is considered a linebacker and could replace Riley Wilson, who was also a standout defensive end-linebacker hybrid at the FCS level prior to transferring to Arizona. 

The 6-3, 245-pound Dover, New Hampshire native played in 31 games over three seasons for the Hoyas and recorded 117 tackles, 27 tackles for loss, 16 sacks, five forced fumbles and an interception. Blomstrom combined for 15 sacks his last two seasons at Georgetown. 

Blomstrom could potentially fill the void at outside linebacker for Arizona. The Wildcats return Chase Kennedy, who converted from defensive end this past season.

Tagoa'i and Roussaw will add depth to the "Will" and "Mike" linebacker positions, especially with Max Harris graduating. 

Tagoa'i, Roussaw and Blomstrom are the newest additions to an Arizona linebacker corps that returns two-year starter Taye Brown, Kennedy, redshirt sophomore Jabari Mann, sophomore Myron Robinson, redshirt junior Leviticus Su'a and redshirt freshman Carter Jones, among others. After suffering a season-ending knee injury in November, Robinson isn't expected to participate in spring practices. 

The transfer portal closes for new entries on Friday. Arizona entered the week with 15 additions in the transfer portal, with a few silent commits. 

Find out the latest updates on Arizona football's activity in the transfer portal with the Star's tracker on Tucson.com and The Wildcaster mobile app.