Arizona football lingering question No. 1: Who will replace Jordan Morgan at left tackle?

Over the next five days, the Star will be asking — and answering — five lingering questions surrounding the Arizona football program following the Wildcats' historic 2023 season. Up first: Who will replace potential first-round NFL Draft pick Jordan Morgan at left tackle?

Good news and bad news for Arizona's offseason. 

The good news: There's not many starting positions to fill via the transfer portal due to most of the offensive and defensive starters returning. 

The bad news? One of those spots is viewed as arguably the second-most important position on an offense besides quarterback: left tackle.

Multi-year starter Jordan Morgan played his final game as a Wildcat in Arizona's 36-point whooping of Arizona State to reclaim the Territorial Cup and opted out of the UA's win over Oklahoma in the Alamo Bowl. The 6-5, 325-pound Marana native is a potential first-round pick in the upcoming NFL Draft in Detroit in April. 

Morgan, who returned for his final season at Arizona after a season-ending knee injury at UCLA in 2022, is currently listed as the 24th-best prospect entering the draft, according to ESPN draft guru Mel Kiper Jr. It's conceivable Morgan could end multiple droughts for the Wildcats at the NFL Draft. He could become the first UA player selected in the first round since Antoine Cason in 2007, the first offensive lineman drafted since Eben Britton in 2009, and the first UA offensive lineman taken in the first round since John Fina in 1992. 

“I wrote about Morgan before the season, picking him as a prospect who could rise if he shows he’s healthy. Well, he looks great. After tearing the ACL in his right knee last November, he rehabbed in the spring to get ready and was able to return for Week 1,” Kiper wrote in his review. “Morgan is extremely consistent from snap to snap. His footwork is terrific in pass protection, and I love his ease of movement and ability to bend.

"Morgan stays active with his hands, and he can get to the next level on combo blocks. He handles twists really well and can deal with inside and outside moves with ease.”

In three seasons under offensive line coach Brennan Carroll’s direction, Morgan’s pass-blocking grades on Pro Football Focus rose from 55.6 (2021) to 82 (’22) to 87.7 (’23).

In Morgan's final season at Arizona, he had the sixth-best pass-blocking grade nationally with a minimum of 700 snaps, according to PFF. In 477 pass-protection snaps this season, Morgan, who was also named an All-Pac-12 First Team and Associated Press All-Pac-12 selection, only allowed two sacks. In 1,500 pass-blocking snaps over five years at Arizona, Morgan surrendered 10 sacks for an average of one sack every 150 snaps. Morgan also had the highest run-blocking grade (73.4) on PFF for an Arizona offensive lineman. 

“He can really handle a (defensive) end on his own without worrying about having to provide a lot of chip help with backs or tight ends. He’s able to get to the second level of blocking, where he can block not just the defensive line, but he’s athletic enough to go block linebackers, defensive backs in space,” said Arizona head coach Jedd Fisch earlier in the season. “That’s a big part of being an offensive lineman. He has a nastiness and is not afraid to play 75-80 plays and get physical each play, and he has great poise.”

Arizona got a glimpse of life in the post-Morgan era at the Alamo Bowl. With Morgan on the sidelines, the Wildcats rearranged their starting lineup with right guard Raymond Pulido, a 6-6, 335-pound freshman and highly-touted recruit in Arizona's 2023 class, at left tackle and sophomore star Jonah Savaiinaea, who converted to right tackle after playing 12 games at guard as a freshman, and redshirt sophomore Joseph Borjon at right tackle.

The combination was problematic. 

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Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita was pressured a season-high 17 times and sacked four times, albeit Savaiinaea ended the night with an 89.1 pass-blocking grade.

Fisch said Oklahoma "brought some challenging looks, challenging fronts that made it difficult" for the offensive line.

"But in the end we were shuffling around and we were trying to get our best five out there," Fisch said. "Jordan Morgan is a first-round pick, so when you lose him for the last game at the left tackle position, you're going to end up having a couple challenges early. But I think the guys settled in, and we were able to get done what we needed to."

In the fourth quarter, the Wildcats removed Borjon, a 6-8, 325-pound redshirt sophomore and former Mt. San Antonio College standout, and kicked Savaiinaea back to right tackle and installed Leif Magnuson, a redshirt sophomore and Saskatchewan, Canada, product, to right guard. Magnuson started five games at right guard this season while Pulido recovered from a high ankle sprain he suffered in Arizona's Pac-12-opening win at Stanford. Magnuson started in wins over Washington State, Oregon State and UCLA. 

With Magnuson in for the remaining minutes of the Alamo Bowl, the Wildcats scored 17 fourth-quarter points. 

The lineup of Pulido, left guard Wendell Moe, center Josh Baker, Magnuson and Savaiinaea could potentially be the opening lineup when the Wildcats face the Mexico Lobos on Aug. 31. Or Borjon could learn from the Alamo Bowl experience and come back stronger. 

Or the Wildcats could do some more shuffling.

Fisch said after the Wildcats' early signing period in December, "You can never go wrong getting big people in your building, whether that’s offensive line or defensive line. Usually we don’t turn down big.” 

Arizona recently added some size to its offensive line in the transfer portal with former Northwestern lineman Alexander Doost, a 6-7, 295-pound Phoenix-area native. The former Glendale Mountain Ridge signed with Northwestern over Arizona, Washington, Michigan State, BYU, Colorado and Utah in 2023 

If Arizona wants to keep Pulido on the guard-to-tackle path, Doost could potentially be in the mix during the spring and preseason training camp at right guard, considering he was recruited out of high school as an interior lineman.

Some other potential candidates at right tackle could arise in the next several months. Last season, defensive end Isaiah Ward wasn't on Arizona's depth chart, then he sprouted up the ranks and started 11 games this season. 

Young tackles Arizona has in the wings include freshmen Rhino Tapa'atoutai and Elijha Payne, along with incoming freshmen Justin Hylkema, a 6-8, 315-pound NorCal product, and Matthew Lado, a 6-6, 260-pound star at Glendale Apollo High School.

Regardless if Pulido remains at left tackle or not, the Wildcats have one Jordan Morgan-sized void to fill on their offensive line, which won't be an easy replacement.