Arizona Football: Trio of Cats land on Polynesian Player of the Year Watchlist

With the 2022 Arizona Football season nearly upon us, a Trio of Cats has landed on the Polynesian Player of the Year Watchlist. 

The Arizona Football season is quickly approaching, and three more Wildcats have landed on preseason watchlists.

Making news on Thursday, current Wildcats Tetairoa McMillan, Jonah Savaiinaea, and Tiaoalii Savea were announced to the 2022 Polynesian College Football Player of the Year Award Watchlist.

An Award that is presented annually to the “most outstanding college football player of Polynesian ancestry that epitomizes great ability and integrity”, according to the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame, this year’s preseason watchlist is composed of 85 players.

And like several other awards, the finalists will be revealed later in the year, with the winner being announced on December 15th.

According to the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame, this year’s presentation of the Award will be held during the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement Week Celebration (January 21, 2023).

Arizona Football will be well-represented this year, and overall, they have several, great candidates that are in contention.

First up is Tetairoa McMillian aka T-Mac. A highly-touted freshman, T-Mac comes to Arizona as the highest-rated high school recruit in program history. At Servite High School, McMillan became the No. 4 ranked wide receiver from the talent-rich state of California, and the No. 5 wideout nationally, per Rivals and 247Sports.

And he enters his first season with the Wildcats with a lot of hype! Coming in, he should be one of the Wildcats’ better receivers this season, and because of the preseason praise he is drawing, he may be Arizona’s best opportunity at winning this award.

Next up is Jonah Savaiinaea. Also a freshman, he was a lightly-recruited three-star recruit out of St. Louis High School in Honolulu.

Coming into the season, he is quickly drawing some preseason praise, especially after he participated in the 2022 Polynesian Bowl and earned all-state recognition as a senior.

Even as a freshman, Big Jonah could be one of Arizona’s better offensive linemen this season, and so far, it appears he has a bright future ahead of him.

Last on the list is Tiaoalii Savea. A sophomore that transferred to Arizona after one season at UCLA, Savea played in 10 games with the Bruins last year, but before that, he was a standout at the prestigious Desert Pines High School in Las Vegas, NV.

Coming out of high school, he was a highly-regarded four-star recruit that competed in the 2021 Under Armour All-American Game, as well as earned a spot in the 2021 Polynesian Bowl.

As he comes to Tucson, Tiaoalii has a bright future as well and helps round out the list of Wildcats on the Polynesian Player of the Year Watchlist.

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