There are going to be several young players contributing in key roles for Arizona this season with one of them being freshman offensive lineman Jonah Savaiinaea, a former three-star recruit out of Hawaii.

Savaiinaea has already drawn praise from a number of players and coaches, including redshirt junior Paiton Fears, since arriving on campus in the winter.

“Since day one, he came in and we tried to take him under our wing,” Fears said in the spring. “He came in like a sponge and soaked up everything. He was ready to get better from day one, so it has really been easy for us as the older guys because he picked up on everything pretty fast.”

Sophomore left tackle Jordan Morgan is another veteran lineman who has talked about how much bigger Savaiinaea is compared to when he first joined the Wildcats.

“[Jonah] is naturally big already,” Morgan said. “When I came in, I was 275 (pounds). Jonah came in 340 already. He was already experienced and had the weight on him, so he knew what he was doing.”