Noah Fifita
![]() Fifita in 2022 | |
Arizona Wildcats – No. 11 | |
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Position | Quarterback |
Class | ![]() |
Personal information | |
Born: | Huntington Beach, California, U.S. | July 28, 2003
Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) |
Weight | 194 lb (88 kg) |
Career history | |
College |
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Bowl games | |
High school | Servite (Anaheim, California) |
Career highlights and awards | |
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Noah Malakai Fifita (born July 28, 2003) is an American football quarterback for the Arizona Wildcats.
High school career
[edit]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 | |
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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: Rivals:![]() ![]() ![]() | ||||||
Overall recruiting rankings: | ||||||
Sources:
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College career
[edit]2022
[edit]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]
2023
[edit]Fifita began the 2023 season as a backup to Jayden de Laura but took over in Week 4 when de Laura got injured against Stanford.[7] Fifita led a 67-yard go-ahead touchdown drive in the fourth quarter to beat Stanford 21–20.[7] With de Laura sidelined, Fifita got his first career start against #7 Washington.[8][9] He completed 27 of 39 passes for 232 yards, three touchdowns, and an interception as the Wildcats lost 31–24.[8][9] He started again the following week in a road matchup against #9 USC, throwing for over 300 passing yards and five touchdowns as Arizona narrowly lost to the Trojans 43–41 in triple overtime.[10][11] For his efforts, Fifita was named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Week.[11] He won the award again the following week after leading the Wildcats to a 44–6 rout of #19 Washington State in Pullman, Washington.[12][13]
After a bye week, Fifita started against #11 Oregon State, despite the recovery of de Laura.[14] He threw for 275 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception, and led Arizona to a 27–24 upset win over the Beavers, earning his third Pac-12 Freshman of the Week award in October.[15] A week later, Fifita threw for 300 yards, three touchdowns, and an interception in a 27–10 victory over #19 UCLA, marking the Wildcats' first-ever three-game win streak against AP Top 25 teams and making them bowl-eligible for the first time since 2017.[16][17][18] After defeating Colorado on the road, 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][20] 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.[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 the FBS.[25]
2024
[edit]Despite the departure of head coach Jedd Fisch, Fifita announced that he would return to Arizona for the 2024 season.[26]
College statistics
[edit]Season | Games | Passing | Rushing | ||||||||||||
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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 |
References
[edit]- ^ a b Spears, Justin (July 10, 2021). "Arizona Wildcats commit Noah Fifita named top-10 QB by MaxPreps for 2021". Arizona Daily Star. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
- ^ a b Combs, Brandon (April 4, 2021). "3-star California quarterback Noah Fifita commits to Arizona". Arizona Desert Swarm (SB Nation). Retrieved November 4, 2023.
- ^ a b Spears, Justin (April 4, 2021). "3-star Anaheim QB Noah Fifita commits to Arizona Wildcats". Arizona Daily Star.
- ^ Prakash Rajikiran, Satya (October 9, 2023). "Who Is Noah Fifita? Here's All You Need to Know About the Arizona Wildcats Football Quarterback". Sportsmanor. Retrieved November 5, 2023.
- ^ a b Lev, Michael (September 11, 2022). "Mistake-prone Arizona falls to Mississippi State; Wildcats drop third straight home opener". Arizona Daily Star. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
- ^ Coles, Joe (November 5, 2022). "Highlights, key plays and photos from No. 14 Utah's 45-20 win over Arizona". Deseret News. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
- ^ a b Gugliociello, Stephen (September 23, 2023). "What a relief! Subs rescue Arizona against Stanford on the road". Arizona Sports. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
- ^ a b Pederson, Brian J. (September 30, 2023). "Arizona football hangs with No. 7 Washington but can't pull upset before Family Weekend sellout". Arizona Desert Swarm (SB Nation). Retrieved November 5, 2023.
- ^ a b Spears, Justin (October 5, 2023). "Arizona Wildcats 'more hopeful' for QB Jayden de Laura to start at No. 9 USC". Arizona Daily Star. Retrieved November 5, 2023.
- ^ Duhon, Mason (October 8, 2023). "Arizona football vs. USC recap: Wildcats fall short in triple-overtime thriller". Arizona Daily Wildcat. Retrieved November 5, 2023.
- ^ a b Spears, Justin (October 9, 2023). "Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita named Pac-12 Freshman of the Week". Arizona Daily Star. Retrieved November 5, 2023.
- ^ Clark, Colton (October 14, 2023). "Difference makers: Arizona freshman QB Noah Fifita plays like a veteran in rout of Washington State". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved November 5, 2023.
- ^ Pederson, Brian J. (October 30, 2023). "Arizona QB Noah Fifita wins Pac-12 Freshman of the Week for third time". Arizona Desert Swarm (SB Nation). Retrieved November 5, 2023.
- ^ Thamel, Pete (October 28, 2023). "Sources: Arizona likely starts QB Noah Fifita vs. Oregon St". ESPN. Retrieved November 5, 2023.
- ^ Spears, Justin (October 30, 2023). "Mr. October: Arizona QB Noah Fifita named Pac-12 Freshman of the Week for a third time". Arizona Daily Star. Retrieved November 5, 2023.
- ^ Knoblauch, Austin (November 4, 2023). "UCLA's offense struggles and Ethan Garbers is injured in loss to Arizona". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 5, 2023.
- ^ Spears, Justin (November 5, 2023). "Arizona Aftermath: Stats, storylines and quotes from the Wildcats' win over No. 19 UCLA". Arizona Daily Star. Retrieved November 5, 2023.
- ^ Veenstra, David (November 5, 2023). "Arizona Wildcats ranked 23rd in the Week 10 AP poll". Arizona Sports. Retrieved November 5, 2023.
- ^ "No. 17 Arizona routs No. 22 Utah to keep Pac-12 title hopes alive". Fox Sports. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
- ^ Messman, Chas. "Arizona ranked #15 in latest College Football Playoff rankings". kyma.com. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
- ^ Marshall, John. "Fifita throws for 527 yards, No. 16 Arizona blows out rival Arizona State 59-23". AP. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
- ^ "Noah Fifita Named Pac-12 Freshman Offensive Player of the Year, 13 Wildcats Earn All-Conference". pac-12.com. Archived from the original on February 3, 2024. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
- ^ Spears, Justin. "'We came a long way': Arizona's six takeaways lift Wildcats over Oklahoma in Alamo Bowl". Tucson.com. Retrieved December 29, 2023.
- ^ "Noah Fifita Earns FWAA Offensive Freshman of the Year". pac-12.com. Archived from the original on February 3, 2024. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
- ^ "Noah Fifita - 2024 Football Roster". arizonawildcats.com. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
- ^ Scheer, Jason. "Noah Fifita and Tetairoa McMillan announce return to Arizona next season". 247sports.com. Retrieved January 20, 2024.