Arizona's Jonah Savaiinaea Makes a Splash

Friday afternoon, the Miami Dolphins announced that they had signed their second round draft pick in offensive lineman and former Wildcat Jonah Savaiinaea to a 4-year $11.3 million with a singing bonus of $4.8 million.

In his first year, Savaiinaea will have a rookie base pay of $840,000 and will average $2.83 million per year throughout his contract.

One of the main players out of the legendary 2022 recruiting class that ranked the highest in program history finishing at No. 19 according to Rivals was three-star guard Savaiinaea, who was overlooked coming out of high school due to the COVID-19 issues facing the country and limiting visits from coaches.

From the moment Savaiinaea walked on campus it was clear that the Wildcats might have a future NFL lineman on their hands. In his first season, he started in on the line and never looked back.

While with the Wildcats, Savaiinaea played in 36 games and showed how much he cared about the team by switching from guard to right tackle and in his last season making an emergency start at left tackle.

Arizona’s football history isn’t as storied as basketball with the program only making 22 bowl games and recording four 10-win seasons with two coming in the last eleven years. In 1998, the Wildcats finished with a school-record 12 wins capped off with a 23-20 win over Nebraska.

Throughout time, Arizona has seen many great players come and go, moving on to the next level and making an impact in the NFL. In all, The Wildcats have had 290 players get selected in the NFL Draft and most recently saw seven players over the last two drafts be selected.

This past season, wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan came close to that pick when he was drafted No. 8 overall by the Carolina Panthers. McMillan ended his Arizona career leading the program in receiving yards with 3,423 to go along with his 213 receptions and 26 touchdowns.

Although the history of first round NFL Draft picks isn’t great, Arizona has had 12 first-round selections. In the past two drafts, the Wildcats have seen McMillan and offensive lineman Jordan Morgan go in the first round.

At this time, it is unclear if Miami see Savaiinaea as a guard, or if the team will keep him as a right tackle like Arizona had him play throughout his three seasons with the Wildcats.