Arizona Wildcats defensive lineman JB Brown enters NCAA transfer portal

If JB Brown is healthy enough for a seventh year of college football, it won’t be at Arizona.

The veteran defensive lineman has entered the NCAA transfer portal, effectively putting an end to a UA career that began in 2017 but was derailed by injuries the last few years.

Brown played 32 games for the Wildcats, starting 17, but has appeared in only four contests the past three seasons. He opted out of the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign, then started the first four games last fall before sitting the rest of the season.

Expected to be part of the interior defensive line rotation this year, Brown underwent season-ending shoulder surgery in late August.

For his career, Brown has 61 tackles (14.5 for loss) with 6.5 sacks and a forced fumble. His best season was 2018, when he started eight games and tied for the team lead with 3.5 sacks while also registering 30 tackles and 7.5 TFL.

Brown is the third member of Arizona’s 2022 roster to leave the team during the season. Tight end Alex Lines left the program in early October, despite having started 15 of 16 games since transferring from UNLV, and quarterback Jordan McCloud left a week later.