Arizona saw major improvements in a number of different avenues this season and one of them included the offensive line taking a step forward as a unit this season, especially as the year moved along.
After struggling mightily across the board last season, it was another shaky start to this year, particularly in the second game against Mississippi State where the offense struggled to consistently move the ball and the Wildcats averaged less than two yards per carry. Jayden de Laura was only sacked twice in that game, but he was constantly facing pressure in the backfield as the Bulldogs collected nine pass deflections.
One of the biggest bright spots on the offensive line all season was freshman guard Jonah Savaiinaea, who started every game and was named to the Pro Football Focus All-Freshman-Team.
"In our mind he graded out really well all season long," head coach Jedd Fisch said. "I don't know how many times I could ever think about an opportunity where a true freshman comes in and starts every single game on the offensive line. I don't know how often that occurs and each week his grades were great. He was a top one or two graded out player for us almost every single week."