Well, this is awkward.
Despite a season of significant improvement, only one member of the 2022 Arizona Wildcats made the All-Pac-12 first or second teams.
And that player, receiver Dorian Singer, just put his name in the NCAA transfer portal.
Singer, who made the second team after leading the conference in receiving yards, conceivably could return. But that isn’t the expected outcome after a breakout sophomore season in which Singer caught 66 passes for 1,105 yards and six touchdowns.
Six Wildcats earned honorable-mention recognition from the league’s coaches: quarterback Jayden de Laura, tailback Michael Wiley, receiver Jacob Cowing, tackle Jordan Morgan, guard Jonah Savaiinaea and kicker Tyler Loop.
Heading into bowl season, de Laura ranks third in the Pac-12 with 3,685 passing yards. He also threw 25 touchdown passes, tied for fourth in the league.
Wiley ranks fifth in the conference with 1,120 yards from scrimmage, including 771 on the ground. He had a team-leading 11 touchdowns. Wiley finished the season with a career-best 214-yard, three-TD performance vs. Arizona State.
Cowing — who announced Monday night that he’d be returning to Arizona next season rather than enter the NFL draft — leads the conference with 85 receptions and ranks fourth with 1,034 receiving yards. Cowing ranks second nationally with 638 yards after the catch, according to Pro Football Focus.
Morgan had the highest PFF grade among Pac-12 tackles after allowing only one sack. He missed the final two-plus games because of injury.
Savaiinaea started all 12 games at right guard, a rare feat for a true freshman. He tied for 11th among Pac-12 guards with a 76.0 pass-blocking grade. PFF charged him with two sacks allowed.
Loop connected on 18 of 21 field-goal attempts for an 85.7% success rate that ranked third in the conference. Loop also made all 38 of his extra-point tries.
Regular-season champion USC swept the player-of-the-year awards. Quarterback Caleb Williams, one of four finalists for the Heisman Trophy, was named Offensive Player of the Year. Lineman Tuli Tuipulotu was named Defensive Player of the Year.
Arizona receiver Tetairoa McMillan was thought to have a strong case for Freshman Offensive Player of the Year, but that honor went to Oregon State running back Damien Martinez. Martinez rushed for 970 yards, third most in the conference, and seven touchdowns. McMillan had 39 catches for 702 yards and a league-high-tying eight touchdowns.
Linebacker Lander Barton of conference-champion Utah was named Freshman Defensive Player of the year. He became the second straight Ute to win that award, succeeding lineman Junior Tafuna.
Washington’s Kalen DeBoer and Oregon State’s Jonathan Smith were named co-Coaches of the Year.
OSU and USC tied for the most first-team selections with five apiece. The Beavers led the way with nine players across the first and second teams.
The Associated Press All-Pac-12 team is expected to be released Thursday.
McMillan honored
McMillan made his mark elsewhere Tuesday, earned first-team Freshman All-America honors from CollegeFootballNews.com.
McMillan leads all true freshmen in receiving yards and touchdowns. The CFN All-Freshman Teams include true and redshirt freshmen.
Two Wildcats made CFN’s third team: Savaiinaea and linebacker Jacob Manu.
Manu became a starter halfway through the season and made a significant impact. Manu tied for fifth on the team with 54 tackles. He finished second with 22 QB pressures, per PFF.
McMillan and Savaiinaea made the PFF All-True Freshman Team, which was announced last week.
Portal update
Four more UA players have entered the NCAA transfer portal: tailback Jalen John, offensive lineman Woody Jean, defensive end Jermaine Wiggins Jr. and DE/linebacker Tyler Martin.
John rushed for 250 yards in 2021 before sitting out this past season because of injury.
Jean appeared in three games in 2020, none the past two season.
Wiggins and Martin, members of the 2022 signing class, did not appear in a game for the Wildcats.
A total of 15 Arizona players are known to have entered the portal or left the program since the 2022 season began.
DB decommits
Three-star defensive back Solomon Davis announced Tuesday afternoon that he’s decommitting from Arizona and reopening his recruitment.
Davis, a standout two-way player at Charter Oak High School in Covina, California, committed to the Wildcats in the summer. He selected the UA over Oregon, Ole Miss, Cal, Colorado and San Diego State, among others. Davis has an official visit to Oregon set up for this week.
Davis told Greg Biggins of 247Sports.com that his decision to decommit “was nothing against Arizona.”
“I have nothing but love and respect for the coaching staff and program,” Davis said. “Coach (DeWayne) Walker is an unbelievable guy and a mentor to me.”
The Wildcats currently have 19 commits for 2023. Six are projected as defensive backs. Per 247Sports.com’s ranking system, four of Arizona’s top six commits are DBs. The Wildcats have 14 defensive players committed for ’23.
The early signing period for football players begins on Dec. 21.
