'That's an NFL player': Jonah Savaiinaea set to start at right tackle for Arizona football

Arizona hasn’t produced a first-round offensive lineman to land in the NFL Draft since John Fina in 1992.

The Wildcats could potentially have two at both tackle spots this upcoming season, with Freshman All-American Jonah Savaiinaea moving from right guard to right tackle; three-year starter and preseason Second Team All-Pac-12 selection Jordan Morgan will man left tackle.

UA head coach Jedd Fisch confirmed the change during Friday’s Pac-12 Media Day at Zouk Nightclub in Las Vegas. Pac-12 savant and former coach Yogi Roth, who was on stage with Fisch during Arizona’s session, coined Savaiinaea “the best offensive lineman in the league.”

The inside-to-outside development began after Arizona’s 5-7 season in 2022, when Savaiinaea started all 12 games at right guard between center Josh Baker and right tackle Paiton Fears, who graduated in the spring.

According to Pro Football Focus, Savaiinaea, a 6-5, 330-pounder from Honolulu, wasn’t penalized and only allowed two sacks all season; PFF also gave him a 77.3 pass-blocking grade. Reminder: He was a true freshman.

Arizona offensive coordinator Brennan Carroll said, “it was easier to start (Savaiinaea) at guard, his natural position.”

Things changed.

“BC hit me up and said, ‘Hey, we’re going to put you outside this offseason,’ and here we are,” Savaiinaea said in the spring. “I came here as a guard, but whatever BC wants me to play, I’m here.”

Savaiinaea seldom played guard in the spring and was slowly implemented as Arizona’s starting right tackle.

“I had to hold his hand a little bit, but he made it through it,” Carroll said.

“He’s a good athlete, so he’s made the transition pretty well,” he added. “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.”

Savaiinaea said playing right tackle is “a total different world coming from an interior position.

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“I get ... help on the inside,” Savaiinaea said. “On the outside, I’m on an island; I’m like one-on-one almost 90% of the time.”

Fisch said Savaiinaea is “a gifted offensive lineman” despite being an “under-recruited” prospect coming out St. Louis High School in 2022. Savaiinaea was among the standouts in the Polynesian Bowl, then became an early enrollee at the UA in the spring of 2022. At one of the Wildcats’ spring practices, San Francisco 49ers offensive line coach Chris Foerster, a 30-year offensive assistant in the NFL, was in awe of Savaiinaea’s potential and stature.

“He said, ‘That’s an NFL player,’” Fisch said during Pac-12 Media Day. “I said, ‘That’s a high school senior.’”

One of the primary storylines of Pac-12 Media Day, besides the conference’s media rights deal and conference realignment, was the collection of elite quarterbacks scattered across the league. But like Roth noted, “You have to protect the quarterbacks.” The Wildcats return most of their offensive unit that ranked sixth nationally in passing offense.

Savaiinaea and Morgan, who returns to Arizona after a season-ending knee injury hindered him from preparing for the NFL Draft, will stand as the two pillars on the Wildcats’ offensive line. Behind them on the depth chart will be a collection of returners such as Sam Langi, who played both tackle and guard last season, junior-college transfer Joseph Borjon, redshirt freshman Jacob Reece, and true freshmen Elijha Payne, Rhino Tapa’atoutai and former Alabama commit Raymond Pulido, among others.

Pulido, the 6-6, 345-pound four-star offensive lineman from Walnut Creek, California, could potentially follow Savaiinaea’s path and start at guard this upcoming season.

Other suitors at guard include Wendell Moe, a walk-on who started three games at guard last season, Langi, Canadian redshirt sophomore Leif Magnuson and former center JT Hand, among others.

“He’s really quick. ... He’s a guy that’s done fantastic in the weight room,” Carroll said of Hand. “He’s strong, he’s quick and he can be a little bit more aggressive at guard than he can at center. It’s a good spot for him.”

Both guard spots will be determined in fall training camp, but for now, Arizona has settled one pertinent question entering the season, which is settling Savaiinaea into his new role.

“If he can play as well at tackle as he did at guard, this kid will be a 15-year NFL player,” Fisch said on Friday. “Him and Jordan will be able to do a heck of a job protecting (Arizona quarterback Jayden de Laura).

“We sort of like to throw the ball in Tucson, so if we can protect that quarterback, it’s going to give us a great chance.”