Arizona's latest addition to its 2022 football recruiting class comes from the re-established Polynesian pipeline.Β
Jonah Savaiinaea, a 6-foot-3-inch, 330-pound three-star offensive lineman from Honolulu, verbally committed to the Wildcats on his Instagram page Tuesday afternoon. He selected the UA over Arizona State, San Diego State, Central Florida and Hawaii, among others.Β
Savaiinaea, who recently visited Arizona, is entering his senior year at St. Louis High School in Hawaii, but is a native of American Samoa.Β Savaiinaea's commitment marked the first time a player from Hawaii or American Samoa joined the Wildcats since Eddie Siaumau-Sanitoa in 2019.
Recruiting the Polynesian community was an important β and well-known β principle of the Dick Tomey era at Arizona. UA tight ends coach Jordan Paopao, who recruited Savaiinaea, said recruiting Polynesian players to Tucson is "a big-time emphasis just in terms of where we want to put our footprint."Β
"It's about creating awareness of how big that is right now, and really making sure that it's a huge emphasis that ultimately our whole entire staff is going to bring back," Paopao said in January, "because you know what you're going to get out of young Polynesian kids. You get kids that work hard and are ultimately going to remain humble and are going to be longstanding leaders in their own individual communities."Β
Savaiinaea is Arizona's second commit in June, and the eighth overall. He joined Chandler Hamilton's Grayson Stovall as the second offensive lineman committed to the Wildcats for '22. Overall, Arizona has eight commitments for the upcoming recruiting cycle.Β
