Many players in the transfer portal era find that the grass isn’t greener on the other side. Few of those get to return to the school where they originally transferred out of.
Count Tia Savea as one of those few who get to go back home.
Savea, a defensive lineman who began his career at UCLA before transferring to Arizona and then to Texas, announced Tuesday night that he’s transferring back to Arizona.
— Tiaoalii A. Savea (@T3ezyy) January 15, 2025
Savea played two seasons at Arizona – 2022 and 2023 – before following defensive coordinator Johnny Nansen to Austin last year.
Despite his ties with Nansen, Savea found himself on the outside looking in with the Longhorns in 2024. He appeared in just four regular season games and recorded 37 snaps for the season. Savea’s 48.3 grade on Pro Football Focus was one of the lowest on the Texas defense.
Savea announced his decision to enter the transfer portal after Texas’ season-ending loss to Ohio State Friday in the College Football Playoff semifinals.
Savea was productive in his first go-round in Tucson.
He appeared in 12 games for the Wildcats in 2023, making 22 total tackles (6 solo, 16 assists) with six tackles for a loss of 24 yards and 1.5 sacks.
In 2022 Savea played in seven games, recording 14 total tackles (8 solo, 6 assist), including 1.5 tackles for loss, one pass breakup, one fumble recovery, and one blocked kick.
The Las Vegas native was a four-star recruit coming out of Desert Pines High School. As a freshman at UCLA, he appeared in 10 games.
Arizona has now signed or gotten commitments from 50 high school, JUCO or FBS/FCS transfers since the end of the 2024 season.