 Fifita in 2022 | |
| Arizona Wildcats–No. 11 | |
|---|---|
| Position | Quarterback |
| Class |  Sophomore |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | July 28, 2003 Huntington Beach, California, U.S. |
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) |
| Weight | 188 lb (85 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 | |
Star ratings: Rivals:  247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 76 | ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: | ||||||
Sources:
| ||||||
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 2023 as a backup but stepped up in Week 4 after Jayden de Laura got injured, leading Arizona to a narrow win over Stanford. [7] He impressed in his first start against #7 Washington, throwing for 232 yards and three touchdowns, followed by a strong performance against #9 USC with over 300 yards and five touchdowns, earning Pac-12 Freshman of the Week honors. [8] [9] [10] Fifita won the award again after winning his first game as a starter the following week in a 44–6 rout of #19 Washington State in Pullman, Washington. [11] [12]
After a bye week, Fifita started against #11 Oregon State, despite de Laura's recovery, and led Arizona to a 27–24 upset win with 275 yards and three touchdowns, earning his third Pac-12 Freshman of the Week award in October. [13] [14] The following week, Fifita threw for 300 yards and three touchdowns in a win over #19 UCLA, making Arizona bowl-eligible and securing the program's first-ever three-game win streak against AP Top 25 teams. [15] [16] After beating Colorado on the road, Fifita led a 42–18 rout of #22 Utah, as he finished with a QBR rating of 97.6. [17] [18] Against Arizona State, he broke the single-game school record with 527 yards and five touchdowns in a 59–23 victory, improving their win streak to six games. [19]
On December 5, Fifita was named the Pac-12 Offensive Freshman of the Year, becoming the second player in school history to earn the award, joining J. J. Taylor. [20] Against #12 Oklahoma in the Alamo Bowl, Fifita threw for 354 yards and two touchdowns in a 38–24 comeback victory, concluding the season on a seven-game winning streak and securing the Wildcats' fourth ten-win season in program history. [21] Fifita finished the season tied for fourth in completion percentage (72.4) among qualified quarterbacks, [22] as well as the fifth-most passing yards (2,869), second-most touchdown passes (25), second-fewest interceptions (6), and highest rating (165.9) among qualified freshman quarterbacks in the FBS. [23]
Despite the departure of head coach Jedd Fisch, Fifita announced that he would return to Arizona for the 2024 season. [24] In the season opener against New Mexico, Fifita threw for 422 yards with four touchdown passes in a 61–39 victory. [25] After winning against Northern Arizona, Fifita and the Wildcats saw their nation-best nine-game winning streak come to an end on the road against #14 Kansas State. Fifita threw for 268 yards on 26-of-42 passing but was intercepted once and had zero touchdowns as they lost 31–7. [26]
Following a bye week, Fifita threw for 197 yards and two touchdowns against #10 Utah, including key third-down completions of 41 and 35 yards during a touchdown drive in the fourth quarter that kept the Wildcats ahead, winning 23–10 in Rice–Eccles Stadium. [27]
| Arizona Wildcats | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Games | Passing | Rushing | ||||||||||||
| GP | GS | Record | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Avg | TD | Int | Rtg | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | |
| 2022 | 3 | 0 | — | 9 | 19 | 47.4 | 128 | 6.7 | 1 | 0 | 121.3 | 0 | 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 |
| 2024 | 12 | 12 | 4–8 | 260 | 430 | 60.5 | 2,958 | 6.9 | 18 | 12 | 126.5 | 66 | 17 | 0.3 | 1 |
| Career | 27 | 21 | 11−10 | 510 | 782 | 65.2 | 5,955 | 7.6 | 44 | 18 | 143.1 | 104 | −16 | −0.2 | 1 |
Dennis Lee Dixon Jr. is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Oregon Ducks. Dixon was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the fifth round of the 2008 NFL draft and played with the team through 2011. He was a member of the Baltimore Ravens practice squad during the 2012 season in which they won a Super Bowl.
Kevin Riley is a former American football quarterback for the California Golden Bears. He played for California from 2007 to 2010.
Marcus Ardel Taulauniu Mariota is an American professional football quarterback for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Oregon Ducks, becoming the first player at the school and the first Hawaii-born athlete to win the Heisman Trophy in 2014.
Sean Thomas Mannion is an American professional football coach and former quarterback who is an offensive assistant for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Oregon State Beavers and was their starting quarterback from 2011 to 2014. He was selected by the St. Louis Rams in the third round of the 2015 NFL draft, and also played in the NFL for the Minnesota Vikings.
Jarrett Pekelo Kahanuolaokalani "Anu" Solomon Jr. is a former American football quarterback for the Arizona Wildcats and Baylor Bears. He began his college football career at Arizona, before deciding to transfer after his senior year to Baylor. He decided to withdraw from Baylor on October 31, 2017, after suffering a concussion.
Joshua Ballinger Lippincott Rosen is an American professional football quarterback who is a free agent. He previously played in the National Football League (NFL) for four seasons. Rosen played college football for the UCLA Bruins, receiving Freshman All-American and Pac-12 Freshman Offensive Player of the Year honors in 2015. During his junior year, Rosen set the school's record for single-season passing yards.
Jalen Alexander Hurts is an American professional football quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He began his college football career with the Alabama Crimson Tide, leading the team to consecutive College Football Playoff National Championship appearances in 2016 and 2017. After being benched for Tua Tagovailoa during Alabama's victory in the latter championship, Hurts spent one season as a backup in 2018. He played his final season with the Oklahoma Sooners, leading them to an appearance in the 2019–20 College Football Playoff.
Justin Patrick Herbert is an American professional football quarterback for the Los Angeles Chargers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Oregon Ducks, where he won the 2019 Pac-12 Championship, and was selected by the Chargers as the sixth overall pick in the 2020 NFL draft.
William Trevor Lawrence is an American professional football quarterback for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL). Considered among the highest-touted college football prospects, he won the 2019 National Championship Game as a freshman with the Clemson Tigers and set the school's record for quarterback wins. Selected first overall by the Jaguars in the 2021 NFL draft, Lawrence had a breakout season in 2022 when he led the Jaguars to their first division title and playoff win since 2017.
Khalil Tate is an American gridiron football quarterback who is a free agent. After playing quarterback at the University of Arizona, he signed with the Philadelphia Eagles as an undrafted free agent in 2020.
Joseph Justyn Taylor is an American professional football running back, and return specialist for the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Arizona. Taylor is also a professional Rocket League esports player of Team Oxygen.
Jayden Daniels is an American professional football quarterback for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He played three seasons of college football for the Arizona State Sun Devils and two with the LSU Tigers, winning the 2023 Heisman Trophy with the latter after leading the FBS in total yards and setting its single-season passer rating record. Daniels was selected by the Commanders second overall in the 2024 NFL draft, with the season seeing him set the rookie single-game completion percentage record as well as a game-winning Hail Mary pass as time expired in a play known as the Madhouse in Maryland.
Kedon Slovis is an American professional football quarterback for the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the USC Trojans, the Pittsburgh Panthers and the BYU Cougars.
Coleridge Bernard "C. J." Stroud IV is an American professional football quarterback for the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes, where he holds several school records, including most passing yards in a single game with 573, as well as being the first player to throw for six touchdowns three times. Stroud was a Heisman Trophy finalist in 2021 and 2022, and was subsequently selected by the Houston Texans second overall in the 2023 NFL draft. In his rookie season, he led the Texans to a division title and playoff victory en route to winning the Offensive Rookie of the Year Award.
Seth Henigan is an American college football quarterback for the Memphis Tigers.
Levi Williams is an American former college football quarterback. Williams attended Smithson Valley High School, after which he started his collegiate career with the Wyoming Cowboys before transferring to play for the Utah State Aggies.
Tetairoa McMillan, nicknamed T-Mac, is an American college football wide receiver for the Arizona Wildcats.
Jordan McCloud is an American football quarterback for the Texas State Bobcats. He previously played for the South Florida Bulls, the Arizona Wildcats and the James Madison Dukes.
Isaac Lakeke Wilson is an American football quarterback for the Utah Utes.
Demond Williams Jr. is an American football quarterback for the Washington Huskies.