Utah starting center Kolinu’u Faaiu reportedly enters transfer portal
The spring transfer portal opened Tuesday, and Utah suffered its first notable entrant as ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported that starting center Kolinu’u Faaiu has entered the transfer portal.
After Keaton Bills and Sataoa Laumea declared for the NFL draft, Faaiu was one of three returning starters along the offensive line, alongside guard Michael Mokofisi and tackle Spencer Fano.
Faaiu played in 10 games at center in 2023, starting the final eight. He was inserted at center ahead of the Cal game and performed well enough throughout the season to hang onto the starting job for the rest of the year.
As for a replacement for Faaiu, high on the list is senior Johnny Maea, who was projected as the starting center ahead of the 2023 season. After missing all but one game last year due to injury, offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig said last week that Maea is not “game ready” as of now but will be by the summer.
Maea played in seven games at center in 2022, starting two late in the season.
Jaren Kump is another candidate for the job. He started the first five games of the season at center before being replaced by Faaiu. Kump also started the Las Vegas Bowl at left guard and appeared in three other games at center and left guard in 2023.
