Former Arizona DL Jacob Kongaika transfers to Arizona State

Arizona State football added some spice to the intrastate rivalry with Arizona in adding defensive lineman Jacob Kongaika, who played two seasons for the Wildcats.

The 6-foot-2, 300-pound lineman was a three-star prospect out of Mater Dei in Santa Ana, Calif. and also held an offer from UCLA among others before landing in Tucson.

Kongaika saw the field in 22 games over his two Arizona seasons, including all 13 in the 10-win 2023 season culminating in an Alamo Bowl victory.

Last season, he tallied 14 tackles, two for loss, two sacks and two fumble recoveries. One of those two fumble recoveries came in Arizona’s Territorial Cup victory over the Sun Devils.

He announced his decision to enter the transfer portal three days after the Alamo Bowl victory in which he recorded a tackle and his other fumble recovery.

His decision, which he announced Sunday evening, comes after visiting campus in Tempe over the weekend.

FORKS UP 🔱 #FEARTHEFORK pic.twitter.com/ILhsnni68G

— Jacob Rich Kongaika_93ra (@KongaikaRich) January 8, 2024

The addition of Kongaika concluded a busy Sunday for head coach Kenny Dillingham and the Sun Devils, who bolstered their defense.

Transfer additions from earlier in the day included safety Myles “Ghost” Rowser (New Mexico State, continuing a trade of sorts in which ASU added Aggies Keyshaun Elliott and Rowser while NMSU added former Sun Devil Josiah Cox), defensive lineman Jeff Clark (Louisville) and defensive lineman Roman Pitre (Purdue).

Arizona fanned the flames earlier in the recruiting process by flipping former Sun Devil commit and Desert Mountain athlete Dylan Tapley to Tucson instead of Tempe.