Jonah Savaiinaea Earns FWAA Freshman All-American

TUCSON, Ariz. – University of Arizona football offensive lineman Jonah Savaiinaea has been named to the Football Writers Association of America Freshman All-American Team, as announced by the organization today.

Savaiinaea started all 12 games at right guard marking the only true freshman to start every game on Arizona's offense this season. The true freshman from Tafuna, American Samoa, helped the Wildcats finish with the No. 21 total offense and No. 6 passing offense in the nation. Savaiinaea earned 2022 All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention following the conclusion of the season. This is the first FWAA honor for Savaiinaea and he becomes the seventh Wildcat to earn a place on the FWAA Freshman All-American Team.

Saavaiinaea is the Wildcats' first honoree on the offensive line since 2006.

He finished with the second-highest Pro Football Focus (PFF) grade (63.3) among Arizona offensive linemen; a pass-blocking grade of 76.0; a run-blocking grade of 55.1; and the second-highest blocking efficiency among Wildcat offensive linemen (98.4).

Quarterback Jayden de Laura capitalized on solid play from the offensive line with 25 passing touchdowns marking the sixth-most in a single season in program history and 3,685 passing yards which is the third-most in a single season in the history of Arizona football.

Arizona jumped from 101st in total offense in 2021 to 21st in total offense and to No. 6 in passing offense in 2022 from 109 in 2021. The Wildcats averaged 30.8 points per game in 2022 compared to 17.2 in 2021.

The Wildcats posted a four-win improvement from 2021 (1-11) to 2022 (5-7) marking the third-largest win increase in a single season in program history.

Arizona's first member of the FWAA Freshman All-American team was defensive back Antonie Cason in 2004. Other Wildcats that have earned the honor include Eben Britton (2006, OL), Keenyn Crier (2007, P), Nate Phillips (2013, WR), Kylan Wilborn (2017, DE), and Colin Schooler (2017, LB).