| Noah Fifita | |
| School: | Arizona Wildcats |
| Currentnumber: | 11 |
| Currentposition: | Quarterback |
| Class: | Sophomore |
| Pastschools: |
|
| Bowlgames: | |
| Highschool: | Servite (Anaheim, California) |
| Birth Date: | July 28, 2003 |
| Birth Place: | Huntington Beach, California, U.S. |
| Height Ft: | 5 |
| Height In: | 11 |
| Weight Lb: | 194 |
| Highlights: |
|
| Espn: | 4801717 |
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. 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. 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]
See also: 2022 Arizona Wildcats football team. 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. 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]
See also: 2023 Arizona Wildcats football team. 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. 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. 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. 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]
See also: 2024 Arizona Wildcats football team. 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 | |