大象APP

UA defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales said the Wildcats 鈥済ot some guys that can do some things up front,鈥� but 鈥渋f you鈥檙e not good up front, it doesn鈥檛 matter what you have behind you.鈥�

That鈥檚 why Arizona hired first-year defensive line coach and associate head coach Joe Salave鈥檃 鈥� a 鈥淒esert Swarm鈥� defensive lineman and renowned defensive line coach at Washington State, Oregon and Miami 鈥� to 鈥渃ontinue to push that room, so we can have a little bit of margin to compete at the level that we need to.鈥�

鈥淥ur identity is going to be forged by the guys in that room,鈥� Salave鈥檃 said. 鈥淧hysicality, effort and finishing are going to be a critical piece of that. There鈥檚 gotta be a noticeable change in our film when we look at it to see if we鈥檙e going 100 miles per hour, 100% of the time. ... The blessing of it all is we鈥檙e in spring ball and not game-planning. It鈥檚 all about creating opportunities.鈥�

In the spring, 鈥渆verybody gets a clean slate鈥� on Arizona鈥檚 defensive line and the Wildcats don鈥檛 have a depth chart, 鈥渨e have an organizational chart, and those guys all have equal opportunities to make a name for themselves and campaign for themselves on film,鈥� Salave鈥檃 said. The ideal number of defensive linemen rotated in a game is anywhere from seven to nine players, said Salave鈥檃 and Gonzales.

鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to work that constantly and create those matchups to elevate the competition,鈥� Salave鈥檃 said. 鈥淭he young men in that room, I can鈥檛 speak enough about them showing up to this point with the joy and excitement to be coached. ... My job is to make sure we鈥檙e equipping these young men with the tools and the resources, so they can compete at the premium level that鈥檚 going to take Arizona to get back to where it needs to be.鈥�

After losing seven defensive linemen to graduation or the transfer portal, the Wildcats added five defensive linemen in the transfer portal this spring, with several more high school and junior college prospects joining in the summer.

One of the additions is a familiar face in Tiaoalii Savea, a 6-4, 310-pound defensive tackle transfer from Texas, who played two seasons for the Wildcats in 2022-23.

Savea consistently sustained injuries, but when he was healthy, he impacted the UA interior defensive line with 36 tackles, 7.5 stops for loss, a pass breakup and a fumble recovery 鈥� the takeaway was in the fourth quarter of the 2022 Territorial Cup win over Arizona State. Savea also blocked a field goal in Arizona鈥檚 upset win over UCLA in 2022. In two seasons, Savea appeared in 19 games and made two starts for the Wildcats.

Salave鈥檃 had 鈥渁 little bit of history鈥� with Savea and recruited him to Oregon, but the Las Vegas defensive tackle signed with UCLA to play under Bruins defensive line coach Johnny Nansen, who became Arizona鈥檚 defensive coordinator in 鈥�22 and 鈥�23. After Nansen joined Texas鈥� staff last year, Savea played in four games for the Longhorns and redshirted to preserve his final year of eligibility.

鈥淚 was really excited when I got in the building and was told that Tia decided to come back this way here,鈥� Salave鈥檃 said. 鈥淭he thing Tia is trying to work through is understanding how we do things here. ... Tia is just worried about him and how he can improve himself. If Tia 鈥� like I know what we can become 鈥� continues on that trend, it鈥檚 going to elevate everybody else in the room, because he鈥檚 a big man that can move, he鈥檚 athletic, but he鈥檚 heavy-handed.鈥�

Arizona held its first fully-padded practice of the spring on Tuesday, and Savea 鈥渄id good things in the live periods,鈥� Salave鈥檃 said. The 鈥渧ery disruptive鈥� Savea had a tackle for loss and sacked backup quarterback Braedyn Locke during a team period on Thursday.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 encouraging,鈥� Salave鈥檃 said of Savea. 鈥淲e鈥檙e going to go to the drawing board and see how we can build from that. ... The expectations for that young man is obviously high.鈥�

Redshirt sophomore defensive end Dominic Lolesio, who could potentially start alongside Savea this season, said the defensive tackle is 鈥渁 great player and he鈥檚 a leader on the D-Line.鈥�

鈥淗e鈥檚 soft-spoken and doesn鈥檛 really say too much,鈥� said Lolesio, who was teammates with Savea on the Arizona team that won the Alamo Bowl in 2023. 鈥淗is actions speak louder than his words. ... It鈥檚 good to have a solid leader on this D-Line that continues to work.鈥�

Savea was unavailable to speak to local media this week due to an academic obligation.

Another potential starter at defensive tackle is UT Martin transfer Deshawn McKnight, who is 6-3, 299 pounds and 鈥渁nother big man that can really bend and turn the corner, very athletic and heavy-handed at the point of attack,鈥� according to Salave鈥檃. Savea and McKnight 鈥渁re starting to gel a little bit,鈥� Salave鈥檃 said. McKnight had a fourth-down stop in a team period on Thursday.

McKnight, the Sumter, South Carolina native, has been a journeyman his entire college football career. McKnight grew up in a single-parent household with two siblings and was primarily raised by his father, Travis McKnight, and grandmother. To get out of Sumter, a town with a population of around 42,000 people, McKnight鈥檚 vehicles were either sports or the military.

鈥淔or me, back in the day, my mindset wasn鈥檛 going to the military,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t definitely was a challenge and a journey. As a kid, I didn鈥檛 want to get up and workout and do all of the things (my dad) wanted to do because it would help me maximize my potential and I didn鈥檛 see it then.鈥�

McKnight was recruited out of high school as an outside linebacker, but he 鈥渨as a defensive lineman at heart,鈥� he said. McKnight started his career at Appalachian State and played two seasons for the Mountaineers before transferring to UT Martin for one season, then signing with the UA in 2025.

鈥淲hen I was at Appalachian State, my mindset and my mentality isn鈥檛 what it is now,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 was able to make mistakes and grow on a personal level and got to learn more about myself to where I can put myself in position to thrive.鈥�

McKnight has a 鈥渃almness about him being a veteran,鈥� Salave鈥檃 said.

鈥淟eads by action, not by words,鈥� Salave鈥檃 said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 the the exciting thing about Deshawn. ... He speaks with high regard for the younger players, because he鈥檚 been there. Now it鈥檚 his opportunity to compete and see if he can be a part of the rotation here, to elevate this room.鈥�

McKnight said the focus for Arizona鈥檚 defensive line this spring is 鈥渂uying and believing in the system鈥� put in place by Salave鈥檃, who said his objective is to 鈥渁djust and just tweak a little bit鈥� of what Arizona鈥檚 defensive line did last season, whether it鈥檚 fixing 鈥渁 mechanical flaw, stance (and) eye control.鈥�

鈥淥nce we get that, I鈥檓 telling y鈥檃ll this season is going to be completely different than what it was last season,鈥� McKnight said.

Arizona鈥檚 defensive line is 鈥渇ar from where we need to be, but I also have a chip on my shoulder, because I heard a lot of noise that it can鈥檛 be done,鈥� Salave鈥檃 said.

鈥淲atch,鈥� said Arizona鈥檚 defensive line coach. 鈥淲atch us work.鈥�

Extra points

鈥撀燬alave'a noted redshirt freshman edge rusher聽Eduwa Okundaye, junior college transfer defensive tackle聽Leroy Palu, Alcorn State transfer defensive end transfer聽Malachi Bailey,聽redshirt junior defensive tackle聽Isaiah Johnson聽and Lolesio as other standouts in practice. Said Salave'a:聽"In a short time, from the first practice to now, tremendous, tremendous improvement in those guys."聽

鈥撀燣olesio said entering the transfer portal聽"never really crossed my mind" after the 2024 season. Added Lolesio: "All I was trying to do was focus on becoming a better young man, a better young player. I still have a lot of growing and developing to do."

鈥撀燗rizona nose tackle聽Chubba Ma'ae聽remains sidelined with an injury, but has attended every practice this spring.

鈥撀燗rizona practiced punting and swapped reps between sophomore聽Michael Salgado-Medina聽and walk-on聽Jordan Forbes, who unofficially had the longest hang time (4.61 seconds) on Thursday. Salgado-Medina's best hang time was 4.31 seconds.聽

鈥撀燪耻补谤迟别谤产补肠办听Cole Tannenbaum聽is no longer with the team. Tannenbaum was Arizona鈥檚 backup quarterback last season. Tannenbaum played the last three seasons at the UA.聽

鈥撀燬alave'a, on ex-Wildcat and coach聽Antonio Pierce聽as a keynote speaker at the UA coaching clinic on Friday: "AP has done some tremendous things in his career. ... He was a coach, he was a player, a team captain and it's exciting to see that he was gonna be here this weekend. AP has built himself up to have a career for himself."

鈥撀燗rizona is hosting its second open practice of the spring on Saturday at Arizona Stadium at 11 a.m. Saturday's session will conclude the second week of spring practices for Arizona.聽