Earlier this offseason, Arizona football lost a three-year starter at linebacker. This weekend, the Wildcats gained a three-year starter along the defensive line.
In the middle of last week, Tony Fields took the first step in leaving Arizona football by entering the NCAA transfer database. Over the weekend, UA confirmed that Roy Lopez has been signed and will continue his collegiate career with the Wildcats.
That same day, the former New Mexico State Aggie took to Twitter to announce his move to the Arizona football team.
“Thank you to all of the schools that reached out to me during these crazy times,” the defensive lineman wrote. “I am so humbled and grateful to announce I am coming back home to my home state! God Bless & Bear Down.”
Thank you to all of the schools that reached out to me during these crazy times. I am so humbled and grateful to announce I am coming back home to my home state! God Bless & Bear Down 🐻⬇️ pic.twitter.com/zCNIUKezVg
— Roy Lopez (@RoyLopez__) July 19, 2020
This move is a homecoming for Lopez as he played his high school football in Tempe.
His first three years at New Mexico State, from 2016-18, Lopez started 32 of the 36 games in which he played. Included in that stretch was a streak of 30 straight starts. Lopez actually extended that streak to 31 in a row in the 2019 opener before an ankle injury sidelined him for most of the rest of the season. Because of that injury, though, Lopez was able to take a redshirt, which will allow him to play in 2020 as a graduate transfer.
During his time with the Aggies, Lopez was credited with 137 tackles, 20 tackles for loss, eight sacks, four passes defensed, three fumble recoveries and one forced fumble. In 2017, Lopez earned honorable All-Sun Belt Conference accord.
NMSU, incidentally, is now a football independent.
