 Fifita in 2022 | |
| Arizona Wildcats–No. 11 | |
|---|---|
| Position | Quarterback |
| Class |  |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | July 28, 2003 Huntington Beach, California, U.S. |
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) |
| Weight | 194 lb (88 kg) |
| Career history | |
| College |
|
| Bowl games | |
| High school | Servite (Anaheim, California) |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| |
Noah Malakai Fifita (born July 28, 2003) is an American football quarterback for the Arizona Wildcats.
Fifita attended Servite High School in Anaheim, California. [1] [2] [3] During his senior season, MaxPreps ranked Fifita the 8th-best high school football quarterback nationally for the 2021 season. [1] On April 4, 2021, Fifita committed to play college football at the University of Arizona, over offers from California, Colorado State, Fresno State, Hawaii, Idaho State, New Mexico, and Utah State. [2] [3] In his high school career, Fifita finished with 7,273 passing yards and 83 touchdowns, while also setting school records for career passing touchdowns, yards, and completions. [4]
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Noah Fifita QB | Anaheim, California | Servite High School | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | Apr 4, 2021 | |
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals:  247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 76 | ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: | ||||||
Sources:
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Fifita played sparingly in his first season at Arizona, serving as the backup to Jayden de Laura. Fifita made his collegiate debut on September 10, near the end of the fourth quarter of a 39–17 home loss to Mississippi State. [5] He went completed 4 of 8 passes for 56 yards. [5] Fifita threw his first career touchdown pass to high-school teammate Tetairoa McMillan in the fourth quarter of a 45–20 road loss to #14 Utah. [6]
Fifita began the 2023 season serving as backup to Jayden de Laura. After receiving limited snaps late in Arizona's wins over Northern Arizona and UTEP, Fifita took over for de Laura after he suffered an ankle injury late in the third quarter of the team's Week 4 game at Stanford. [7] Fifita led the team on a 9-play, 67-yard go-ahead touchdown drive in the fourth quarter and the Wildcats held on to win 21–20. [7]
With de Laura still injured, Fifita made his first career start the following week in a home match-up against #7 Washington. [8] [9] In doing so, Fifita became the first Arizona quarterback since Richard Kovalcheck in 2004 to make their first career start against a top-10 opponent. [8] [9] Fifita completed 27 of 39 passes for 232 yards, three touchdowns and an interception, but the Wildcats fell just short, losing to Washington 31–24. [8] [9] Fifita started once again the next week in a road match against #9 USC. [10] [11] Despite Fifita throwing for over 300 passing yards and a career-high five touchdown passes, the Wildcats narrowly lost to the Trojans 43–41 in triple overtime. [10] [11] For his efforts, Fifita was awarded the Pac-12 Freshman of the Week award. [11] Continuing as the starter, Fifita earned a second-consecutive Pac-12 Freshman of the Week award the next week after leading the Wildcats to scores on 8 of 11 possessions in a 44–6 rout of #19 Washington State in Pullman, WA. [12] [13]
Following a bye week, Fifita started the next game against #11 Oregon State despite the recovery of de Laura. [14] [15] Fifita threw for 275 yards, three touchdowns and one interception, and led the Wildcats to a 27–24 upset over the Beavers. [15] Fifita was again awarded the Pac-12 Freshman of the Week award, his third such recognition in the month of October. [15] A week later Fifita threw for 300 yards, three touchdowns and an interception, and led the Wildcats to their third consecutive upset victory - this time a 27–10 win over #19 UCLA. [16] [17] [18] The win marked the first time in program history that the Wildcats had won three consecutive games against AP Top 25 ranked opponents, and also made the Wildcats bowl eligible for the first time since 2017. [17] [18] The next day, the Wildcats also entered the AP Poll at #23 for the first time in over six years. [17] [18]
After defeating Colorado on the road for their fourth straight win, Fifita and the Wildcats routed #22 Utah 42–18, with Fifita throwing for 253 yards, two touchdowns, and a QBR rating of 97.6. [19] Following their fourth win over a ranked opponent, Arizona moved up to #15 in the CFP poll, their highest ranking since 2014. [20] Against Arizona State, Fifita completed 30 of 41 passes for 527 yards, five touchdowns, and an interception as the Wildcats won 59–23, improving their win streak to six games. Fifta's 527 yards broke Anu Solomon’s single-game school record of 520 yards against California in 2014. [21] On December 5, Fifita was named Pac-12 Freshman Offensive Player of the Year, becoming the second player in school history to earn the award, joining J. J. Taylor. [22]
Against #12 Oklahoma in the Alamo Bowl, Fifita threw for 354 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception in 38–24 victory, capping off the season with a seven-game winning streak and securing the Wildcats' fourth ten-win season in program history. [23] Fifita finished the season tied for fourth in the country in completion percentage (72.4) among qualified quarterbacks. [24] He also posted the fifth-most passing yards (2,869), second-most touchdown passes (25), second-fewest interceptions (6), third-most completions (241), fourth-most yards per game (239.1), and highest rating (165.9) among qualified freshman quarterbacks in FBS. [25]
Despite the departure of head coach Jedd Fisch, Fifita announced that he would return to Arizona for the 2024 season. [26]
| Season | Games | Passing | Rushing | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Record | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Avg | TD | Int | Rtg | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | |
| Arizona Wildcats | |||||||||||||||
| 2022 | 3 | 0 | — | 9 | 19 | 47.4 | 128 | 6.7 | 1 | 0 | 121.3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | 12 | 9 | 7–2 | 241 | 333 | 72.4 | 2,869 | 8.6 | 25 | 6 | 165.9 | 38 | −33 | −0.9 | 0 |
| Career | 15 | 9 | 7−2 | 250 | 352 | 71.0 | 2,997 | 8.5 | 26 | 6 | 163.5 | 38 | −33 | −0.9 | 0 |
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