Defensive line duo Jermayne Lole and Tiaoalii Savea were named to the preseason watch list for the 2024 Polynesian College Football Player of the Year award on Thursday.
Tiaoalii Savea at the 2024 Orange-White Game.
AUSTIN, Texas – Longhorn defensive line duo Jermayne Lole And Tiaoalii Savea landed on the preseason watch list for the 2024 Polynesian College Football Player of the Year award, the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame announced Thursday. The award is given annually to the most outstanding college football player of Polynesian descent who exemplifies great skill and integrity.
Lole is a defensive lineman from Louisville who also previously played for Arizona State from 2018-2021, appearing in 42 career games with 33 starts. The Long Beach, California native played in 14 total games for Louisville, including 12 in 2023 and two in 2022, before suffering a season-ending injury. In 2023, Lole totaled 19 tackles, including 5.0 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. He contributed two tackles and a sack to a conference win against No. 20 Duke. In the ACC championship game against Florida State, he recorded four tackles, including a half tackle for loss for two yards. Lole collected three tackles against USC in the Holiday Bowl, helping Louisville to a 10-win season. In 28 games at Arizona State, Lole recorded 123 tackles, including 20 tackles for loss and 11 sacks, with eight pass breakups. However, he missed the 2021 season due to injury after being named a preseason All-American by Pro Football Focus (PFF).
Lole played in four games for Arizona State in 2020 during a pandemic-shortened season, recording 24 tackles, including 17 solo stops, five tackles for loss and a sack, as well as a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. Lole led the Pac-12 with seven tackles for loss or rushes for no gain and ranked third-most among Pac-12 defensive players with 18 quarterback pressures. Lole recorded 72 tackles in 2019 — the third-most for an Arizona State defensive player since 1990. He also led the team with 6.5 sacks and 10 tackles for loss, while adding a fumble recovery. His 37 tackles for loss or no gain during the regular season led the nation’s defensive players. Lole recorded at least four tackles in every game, had at least five tackles in 10 games and posted six or more tackles in seven contests. In the win against No. 18 Michigan State, Lole recorded eight tackles, one tackle for a loss and one sack and was named Pac-12 Defensive Lineman of the Week for his performance against the Spartans. At No. 13 Utah, he recorded two tackles for a loss and recovered a fumble. Against Oregon State, Lole recorded eight tackles with one tackle for a loss and one sack.
Savea has played in 29 games in his career, 19 of which were in Arizona, including two as a starter after transferring from UCLA, where he spent one season and played in 10 games. With the Wildcats, he amassed 36 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, three pressures, one fumble recovery and one blocked kick in two seasons.
Savea was named to the preseason watch list for the Polynesian College Football Player of the Year award for the second consecutive year. He played in 12 games last season, including at nose guard against Stanford and as EDGE against Utah, recording 22 tackles, six tackles for loss for 24 yards, 1.5 sacks and three pressures. In seven games, he recorded multiple tackles and three tackles against Washington with two tackles for loss and a sack. Savea helped Arizona to a 10-3 record last year, including a 38-24 victory over No. 12 Oklahoma in the Valero Alamo Bowl. All three losses were by seven points or less, one by seven points in overtime against Mississippi State, another by two points in triple overtime at No. 9 USC and the third by seven points against No. 7 Washington, which went on to play in the CFP National Championship Game.
In 2022, Savea appeared in seven games in his first season with the Wildcats, recording 14 total tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, a pass defense, a fumble recovery and a blocked kick. The blocked field goal helped Arizona beat No. 9 UCLA 34-28 in the Rose Bowl, and he also matched his season-high three tackles in that game. Prior to Arizona, Savea spent one season at UCLA in 2021, appearing in 10 games on the defensive line. He finished the year with seven tackles after recording multiple stops in each of his final three appearances as a freshman.
The five finalists for the 2024 Polynesian College Football Player of the Year award will be announced on December 3, and the winner will be announced on December 17. The award will be presented during the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame Induction Dinner on January 18, 2025, at the Sheraton Waikiki. Finalists will also be recognized during the Polynesian Bowl on January 17, 2025.
The Longhorns open the season at home against Colorado State on Saturday, August 31 at 2:30 p.m. CT. The game will be broadcast on ESPN from Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium.
