Arizona's addition of veteran offensive lineman Chance Roberts has gone official today. The Albany transfer committed to the Wildcats on Tuesday to become the first spring addition for the team. The offensive line is plenty in flux still heading into the summer so Roberts should have a chance to push for some playing time. He heads to Tucson with a lot of game experience including making nine starts last season for the Great Danes. The 6-foot-5, 300-pound Ohio native split his time at both left guard and left tackle with six starts at left tackle and three at left guard, including the final three games of the season.
Roberts earned some impressive pass protection grades throughout his lone season at Albany with an 84.6 grade in that category against New Hampshire. He also scored at least an 80.0 in games against Long Island University and Maine. In all, the senior was on the field for 651 snaps across 12 games in the 2024 season.
He allowed 4 sacks and 3 hits on the quarterback in 398 pass protection opportunities in the fall. Roberts only had two penalties called against him, according to PFF.
He will have one season of remaining eligibility with the Wildcats. Roberts began his career at Division-II Tiffin University in Ohio where he played for three seasons before moving on last offseason to join Albany. At Tiffin, the offensive lineman played in 12 games across three years but redshirted his first season in 2021. That has given him the ability to preserve an extra season of eligibility to finish his career at the Power 4 level with the Wildcats.
The Wildcats lost five offensive linemen to the transfer portal during the winter transfer period but also has to replace one of its most important pieces, Jonah Savaiinaea who is expected to be selected high in this week's NFL draft.
UA addressed its need up front in the winter by adding multiple offensive line transfers including Ty Buchanan (Texas Tech), Jordan Brown (Georgia Tech), Ka'ena Decambra (Hawaii), Tristan Bounds (Michigan) and Isaac Perez (Portland State). Brown was injured in the spring leaving the need for another experienced player to join the group and provide the Wildcats with increased depth.
In all, Brent Brennan's program has added 26 players through the portal since the end of the season in November.
