Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita has professed the importance of family and loyalty throughout his college career.
Fifita walked the walk a year ago by remaining a Wildcat when coach Jedd Fisch left to Washington.
Now Fifita is again doubling down on his commitment to the Arizona football program, which announced his return on social media Wednesday night. The Arizona Daily Star was first to report Fifita’s return.
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Fifita threw for 2,958 yards as a redshirt sophomore including 18 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. Fifita completed 60.5% of his passes, down from 72.4% in 2023.
Fifita’s second year behind center was uneven at times, and he would be the first to acknowledge the season didn’t go as he would have liked.
Arizona finished the season 4-8 under first-year coach Brent Brennan. Its offense never got going.
“We know Tucson is used to winning and wants a winning football program,” Fifita told the Star’s Justin Spears. “We’re going to work our asses off to give them that. We’re so grateful for Tucson. Tucson and the community is one the reasons why we didn’t want to leave here.”
The 5-foot-10 quarterback will enter his junior year under a new offensive coordinator in Seth Doege, who joins the program after one season at Marshall.
“What you get from this offense is a very efficient offense,” Doege said at his introductory press conference. “It’s flexible to your personnel. If you got a quarterback like Noah (Fifita) you can grip it and rip it. If you don’t, you can still win games and score points, which is the name of the game. Kids can play free in their minds and play fast.”
Fifita clearly bought in to the offensive philosophy Doege is selling.
Arizona will look to surround Fifita with offensive weapons through the transfer portal and roster retainment.