Jon Johnson File Photo/Gila Herald: UA quarterback Noah Fifita warms up before the Valero Alamo Bowl in January.
When MaxPreps released its list of the top high school quarterbacks from the Class of 2021, it featured many well-known names at the top. Future Texas standout Quinn Ewers, future Clemson star Cade Klubnik, and, of course, future Texas signal-caller Arch Manning all landed in the top five. But there was another name further down the list that was unfortunately overshadowed: Noah Fifita.
Could a Heisman Trophy be in Fifita’s future? If you want to support Fifita to win the Heisman, he’s currently listed at +3,000 at DraftKings, and you can check the DraftKings review for more information on bonuses and free bets. He’s still listed behind Quinn Ewers (+900) and on par with Cade Klubnik (+3,000) when it comes to 2024 Heisman Trophy betting odds and is considered a longshot. But what’s new? Fifita has been overlooked for most of his college football career, and he just keeps proving people wrong.
Noah Fifita had stats that were as impressive, if not even more impressive, than the stats his fellow Class of 2021 QBs put up. While lining up under center for Servite High School in Anaheim, CA, he threw for nearly 7,300 passing yards and 83 touchdowns. He set school records for career completions, passing yards, and passing touchdowns.
But despite this, Fifita was only a three-star recruit in the eyes of Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN. As a result, he was relatively lightly recruited, only receiving offers from the likes of California, Colorado, Fresno State, Hawaii, and Utah State before ultimately choosing to attend Arizona.
Noah Fifita and Arizona weren’t a match made in heaven right away, either, as even Arizona seemed to slight him when he arrived on campus. As a freshman, he served as a backup to Jayden de Laura and played sparingly, often in blowout losses.
Heading into his second season, he was once again sent to the bench to back up de Laura, and if not for an ankle injury to de Laura in Arizona’s third game of the season, he may have stayed there. But Fifita eventually got the starting nod with de Laura sidelined, and he made the most of it.
Fifita played well against No. 7-ranked Washington, throwing for 232 passing yards and three touchdowns in a tough 31-24 loss. He followed up that performance by throwing for more than 300 yards and five passing touchdowns the next week against No. 9-ranked USC in another close 43-41 loss. He was named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Week after the USC game, and he was named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Week again the next week after helping Arizona beat No. 19-ranked Washington State 44-6.
By that point, de Laura was ready to return, but Fifita wasn’t ready to give up his starting spot. He would go on to win seven games in a row as the Arizona Wildcats quarterback while throwing for 2,869 yards and 25 touchdowns. He capped off his phenomenal season by leading Arizona to a 38-24 victory over No. 12-ranked Oklahoma while putting up over 350 passing yards and throwing for two touchdowns.
It has everyone wondering, “What’s next?” There was talk about a Noah Fifita transfer following the 2023 season, but he chose to stay put in Arizona.
