Arizona Wildcats fall camp preview, Part 3: How Donovan Laie’s change of heart alters outlook for O-line

Editor’s note: Leading up to the start of Arizona football training camp on Friday, the Star will ask and answer five pressing questions about the Wildcats.

The Arizona Wildcats have a promising quarterback and some intriguing options behind him. They go several deep at running back. They have wide receivers of all shapes and sizes. They even have more than one viable tight end.

None of it will matter if they can’t block.

On paper, the offensive line was in good shape entering the pre-camp ramp-up period late last month. Most of the players who had left the program before their eligibility was up played other positions.

Then it felt as if that piece of paper had been torn to shreds.

Junior Donovan Laie – easily one of Arizona’s best linemen and possibly its best overall pro prospect – announced last week that he was putting his name in the NCAA transfer portal. Laie’s father died last year, and the decision seemed more personal than program-related. Still, it was a tough blow for a UA squad that already had absorbed several.

Until it wasn’t.

Laie changed his mind about 24 hours later. He announced he was remaining with the program, and UA fans finally had something to be happy about amid a rocky offseason.

It’s difficult to quantify the impact of a single offensive linemen, but we’re going to try in our latest examination of Arizona's personnel leading into training camp.

Camp question No. 3: How big a deal is the return of offensive lineman Donovan Laie?

Lineman Donovan Laie has started every game — 24 straight — since he first put on a UA uniform two years ago.
Kelly Presnell / Arizona Daily Star

It’s a huge deal, for multiple reasons. Before we get into those specifics, though, let’s provide a little background on Laie.

Laie was a three-star prospect in the class of 2018. The product of Oceanside, California, held 10 offers, according to Rivals, including three from the Pac-12 (Arizona, Colorado, Oregon State). In addition to standing out in football, Laie was the MVP of the Pirates’ boys’ basketball team.

Kevin Sumlin’s staff didn’t recruit Laie, but the coaches took an instant liking to him. He checked in at 6-4, 318 pounds as a freshman, and he was ready to play immediately for an offensive line in need of reinforcements.

Not only did Laie slide right into the starting lineup, he did so at left tackle. If that spot isn’t the most demanding among the five O-line positions, it’s at worst in the top two. Laie’s placement there was necessitated by the NCAA ruling Layth Friekh ineligible for the first two games in exchange for granting him a fifth season.

When Friekh came back, Laie shifted to right tackle, where he performed well. For the season – which consisted of nine starts on the right side and three on the left – Laie ranked eighth among Pac-12 tackles in pass blocking, according to Pro Football Focus. Not bad for a true freshman.

Of all the positions on either side of the ball, offensive line is considered the most difficult to play effectively straight out of high school. A sampling of recent UA linemen provides proof.

Friekh, a four-year starter, appeared in only one game as a freshman (which eventually led to the NCAA ruling). Jacob Alsadek, another four-year starter, redshirted as a freshman. So did Cody Creason, who became a reliable rotation regular and starter at multiple spots.

Current center Josh McCauley has developed into the line’s anchor; if Laie isn’t the unit’s best player, McCauley is. But it took McCauley several seasons to reach this level. Not only did he redshirt as a freshman, he began his college career as a walk-on.

Arizona Wildcats football — Donovan Laie cracked Arizona's starting lineup as a true freshman in 2018.
Rick Scuteri / The Associated Press 2018

Laie became the full-time left tackle for most of 2019. He didn’t perform quite as efficiently, per PFF’s metrics, but he was still the Wildcats’ top-graded pass-blocking tackle.

Laie started two of the final three game at left guard, moving there to clear a path for then-freshman Jordan Morgan. That’s likely how they’ll line up this season, which begins Nov. 7 at Utah. And that projected alignment underscores Laie’s value to the team.

Laie has started at three positions, and he seems to have little difficulty adjusting from one to the other. Offensive line coaches usually like to have eight players they can rely on, and no attribute is more valued than versatility.

The coaches see a lot of upside in Morgan. But should he falter or get hurt, they can nudge Laie back to left tackle.

Junior Paiton Fears is projected to start at right tackle after sharing time there last year with Edgar Burrola, who’s currently suspended from the team. If Fears should falter or get hurt, the Wildcats have a ready-made replacement in Laie.

Arizona has other options, thanks to a concerted effort to fortify the line in the past two signing classes. But no matter how you configure it, Laie’s presence enhances the starting five and the second unit. Neither would be the same without him.