Over the next few days, the Star is asking three lingering questions surrounding the Arizona Wildcats football program entering the summer after the UA wrapped up its spring practice schedule last week. Up first: Will star offensive lineman Jonah Savaiinaea play right tackle or right guard in 2023?
The path to the NFL for star offensive lineman Jonah Savaiinaea appeared to be a one-lane road at right guard.
Then the Arizona coaching staff added a second lane by giving Savaiinaea reps at right tackle. Road construction — err, Savaiinaea learning right tackle — ramped in the second half of the Wildcats’ spring practices.
Arizona offensive line coach Brennan Carroll said “the genesis of said idea is something we always had a thought of,” and he pitched the idea to Savaiinaea shortly after the Wildcats finished their 5-7 season in 2022.
“BC hit me up and said, ‘Hey, we’re going to put you outside this offseason,’ and here we are,” Savaiinaea said.
“I came here as a guard, but whatever BC wants me to play, I’m here.”
Arizona offensive lineman Jonah Savaiinaea, shown during the UA team's spring practice session on April 4, saw extensive time at right tackle during spring ball.
The 6-5, 330-pounder from Honolulu started all 12 games at right guard in 2022 and received a 77.3 pass-blocking grade by Pro Football Focus; he also wasn’t penalized and gave up two sacks all season. So why Savaiinaea at right tackle, if he was deemed one of the top freshman guards in the nation?
“We’re trying to figure out the offensive line,” Arizona coach Jedd Fisch said. “Not having (left tackle) Jordan (Morgan) all spring, we kind of know where Jordan is going to play, so we want to see what it looks like at replacing Paiton (Fears) at right tackle.”
Said Carroll: “Last year it was easier to start him at guard, his natural position, and we had the opportunity this spring, so we talked about it after the season.”
At the start of spring, Savaiinaea started at guard, with former junior-college transfers Joseph Borjon and Sam Langi, who was the Wildcats’ de facto sixth starter in ‘22, at the tackle spots. By the halfway point of spring practices, Savaiinaea was installed at right tackle.
Arizona offensive lineman Jonah Savaiinaea started all 12 games as a freshman at right guard but got an extended look at right tackle during spring practice.
“Right now with the numbers, we got to see what Jonah can do, and Jonah is playing really well at tackle,” Fisch said. “He’s a gifted offensive lineman.”
Carroll said he “had to hold his hand a little bit, but (Savaiinaea) made it through it.”
“There’s a lot of carryover in the run, carryover in the quick-passing game, but these guys have been working on it and he’s been working on it all spring, in case we needed to try it out,” Carroll said.
“He’s a good athlete, so he’s made the transition pretty well. We just wanted to try a bunch of guys at different spots, kind of like we’ve always done, to have more versatility if we need to make that move.”
Playing right tackle is “a total different world coming from an interior position,” Savaiinaea said. The chances of his offensive line cohorts helping him on combo-blocking or picking up blitzes are slimmer at tackle. A tackle essentially monitors one side of the field, keeping an eye on edge rushers, linebackers and defensive backs.
“On the outside, I’m on an island,” Savaiinaea said. “I’m like one on one almost 90% of the time.”
If Arizona keeps Savaiinaea at right tackle, he and Morgan — who was expected to declare for the NFL draft but returned after suffering a season-ending ACL injury last November — as a tackle tandem would give Arizona its two best offensive line prospects protecting the edges on the line of scrimmage.
Arizona offensive lineman Jonah Savaiinaea, left, signals a first down behind ASU linebacker James Djonkam in the fourth quarter of the Wildcats Territorial Cup victory at Arizona Stadium on Nov. 25, 2022.
Arizona will mull over the possibility of Savaiinaea at right tackle, but the decision won’t be made until notable reinforcements are on campus for preseason training. Former four-star Alabama commit Raymond Pulido, a 6-6, 345-pound Los Angeles-area native, and 6-7, 285-pound tackle Elijha Payne will join the team in the summer. Redshirt freshman Jacob Reece and true freshman Rhino Tapa’atoutai have also received “a lion’s share of reps out there (at tackle), and it’s been great for them,” Carroll said.
“These guys understand when these new guys come in, they’re going to get their shot to play early,” Carroll said. “They’re going to get their shot with the (starters) early on in camp, and let’s see how they do. This is their time to tear it up and show what they got. They know they’ve got new guys coming in.”
If the newbies shine, Savaiinaea could stay at right guard. If not, expect Savaiinaea to start at right tackle in the season opener against Northern Arizona.
“We’ll see what it all looks like,” Fisch said. “There’s a lot of things that can still happen here. We’ve got three or four freshmen still coming in, we’ve got Joe Borjon getting better every day, we have four scholarships open, so there’s always something that could happen there that can help our football team get better.
“We’ll play Jonah at the best spot for Jonah. He’s an All-American player, an NFL player, and we’ll make sure Jonah gets taken care of so that he’s able to lead us up front.”
Extra points
Former Indiana defensive tackle <&rdpStrong>Sio Nofoagatoto’a</&rdpStrong> announced on Thursday afternoon that he will transfer to the UA after four seasons with the Hoosiers. Nofoagatoto’a becomes the first transfer portal addition for Arizona since the end of spring practices. The 6-3, 315 pound Nofoagatoto’a, an Ili’ili, American Samoa, native, logged 52 tackles and one pass deflection in 41 games at Indiana. Nofoagatoto’a is one of six transfer portal additions for Arizona in 2023, along with linebackers <&rdpStrong>Justin Flowe</&rdpStrong> (Oregon) and <&rdpStrong>Daniel Heimuli</&rdpStrong> (Washington), defensive tackles <&rdpStrong>Tyler Manoa</&rdpStrong> (UCLA) and <&rdpStrong>Bill Norton</&rdpStrong> (Georgia) and edge rusher <&rdpStrong>Orin Patu</&rdpStrong> (Cal).
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Arizona defensive tackle <&rdpStrong>Evan Branch-Haynes</&rdpStrong>, who was a part of the Wildcats’ 2021 recruiting class during the <&rdpStrong>Kevin Sumlin</&rdpStrong> era, entered the transfer portal on Thursday.
Arizona finished spring practice after hosting its annual spring game on Saturday at Arizona Stadium. Wildcats head coach Jedd Fisch recapped the spring and talked about the "halftime" of the offseason.
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