Former UCLA defensive tackle Tiaoalii Savea commits to Arizona

The Arizona Wildcats have completely revamped the offense, not only through high school recruiting but the NCAA Transfer Portal as well.

The have also done the same with the defense, and they just added a nice piece via the portal in former UCLA defensive lineman Tiaoalii Savea announced his commitment to Arizona on Tuesday night.

Savea, sitting at 6-foot-4 and 275 pounds, announced he was transferring from UCLA after just one year with the program. Not a shock, considering his lead recruiter and position coach, Johnny Nansen, is now the UA’s defensive coordinator.

Savea was UCLA’s highest-rated recruit in their 2021 class and comes from a high school Arizona and its fans are familiar with: Desert Pines in Las Vegas. He had around 25 offers coming out of high school to include Arizona, ASU, Auburn, LSU, Miami (FL), Michigan, Penn State, Oklahoma, Oregon, USC, and Utah.

Savea saw a good amount of action during his true frosh campaign, playing in 10 games and recording seven tackles. He played 80 snaps, which is a decent amount of run for a freshman defensive lineman.

Savea did take an official visit to USC, however, it appears his previous relationship with Nansen won out in this one.

He joins former UCLA teammate DJ Warnell, a defensive back, as well as ex-USC linebacker Hunter Echols and ex-Michigan LB Anthony Solomon as the defensive transfers for Arizona so far this cycle.