Two Longhorns Named to Polynesian College Football Player of the Year Watch List

Jermayne Lole and Tiaoalii Savea grace the watch list ahead of the 2024 season

April 20, 2024; Austin, Texas, USA: Texas White team running back Jaydon Blue (23) navigates between defense from Texas Orange linebacker Morice Blackwell Jr. (37) and defensive lineman Tiaoalii Savea (98) in the second quarter of the Longhorns' spring Orange and White game at Darrell K Royal Texas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sara Diggins-USA Today Sports via American Statesman / Sara Diggins/USA Today Sports via American-Statesman

Interior defensive linemen Jermayne Lole and Tiaoalii Savea have each been named to the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame's Player of the Year watchlist. The pair of transfer defensive tackles joined the Longhorns through the transfer portal in 2024, and now have a chance to take home an Award that celebrates Polynesian heritage and ancestry.

Lole is a California native who spent his first four seasons in the southwest, playing for Arizona State. The defensive tackle broke out in his sophomore season, but injuries sidelined him in 2020 and the entirety of 2021. Looking for a change of scenery, Lole transferred to Louisville, where failed to receive snaps early in his Cardinals career.

Lole stayed polished, however, and went on to have a fantastic fifth season, deflecting two passes, forcing a fumble, and recording five tackles for loss. Lole will enter his seventh year in college football in 2024 with the Longhorns, making it to his third destination with hopes to play meaningful snaps in a rebuilt defensive line room.

Savea is another veteran in the CFB game, entering his fourth year of college football with Texas. The Las Vegas native has followed now-Texas linebackers coach Johnny Nansen throughout his four years in college, originally committing to UCLA when Nansen was the defensive line coach.

After sitting out his freshman year, Savea followed Nansen to Arizona where the latter became the defensive coordinator, and the former started seeing snaps. Savea wouldn't see meaningful playing time until his junior season last year, where the defensive tackle recorded six tackles for loss, third most on the breakout Wildcats team. Now, with Nansen heading east to Austin, Savea follows him one last time to try and crack the starting rotation in burnt orange.

The award will cut down its list of candidates on December 5, when the Hall of Fame picks five finalists for the prize. The winner will officially be picked on December 17, with an award ceremony in mid-January in Hawaii.