Arizona OL Donovan Laie will return to Wildcats after transfer decision

This offseason has been filled with plenty of twists and turns for Arizona's football program. The Wildcats finally got one to break their way as standout offensive lineman Donovan Laie quickly backed off the decision he made Tuesday to transfer from the program. Instead, he decided Wednesday that he will again suit up for the Wildcats in his junior season as he looks to continue his streak of 24 consecutive starts.

Laie announced Tuesday in a since deleted tweet that he would be entering the transfer portal saying "it's time to move forward" after two seasons in Tucson, but after more discussions with his family plus input from other members of the UA program he ultimately opted to pull his name out of transfer consideration and continue his career with his team.

"After much prayer with my family & talks about my future, I have decided that I will be taking my name out of the transfer portal & resuming my career at the University of Arizona," he said in a statement posted to Twitter. "I would like to thank every university that has welcomed me with welcome arms to join their programs."

Losing a player like Laie would have been a big blow to the program as he has been one of the most consistent pieces of Arizona's offense over the last two seasons and is currently the teams top NFL prospect. The 6-foot-5 junior from Oceanside, California has played most of his career at left tackle but moved inside to left guard late last season to allow Jordan Morgan an opportunity to start as a freshman in a time when the Wildcats had to shuffle the line because of injuries.

Laie is expected to continue to play inside and remain a starter at the left guard position.

"Being a wildcat these past few years have been an honor & I have been nothing but blessed to be able to play & work with some of the most amazing people," he said Tuesday.

The return of such an important piece will provide Arizona with a boost since replacing Laie would have been difficult. The Wildcats are making the transition to Grant Gunnell as the team's full-time quarterback after he split time with Khalil Tate last year. While Gunnell has an ability to use his feet to scramble and create plays with his feet, he is much more of a pocket passer than Tate meaning his blindside will need to be protected well.

Having Laie on board to help do that is going to be important this season.

Wednesday marks a positive day for the Wildcats overall as reserve quarterback Kevin Doyle made the decision to opt back into the 2020 season after initially planning to take the season off amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Both players will not burn any of their eligibility this year after the NCAA decided to grant fall sports athletes an extra season no matter how many games they play during the 2020-21 academic year.

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