Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita compared to Heisman Trophy winner

Tony Adame

Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita compared to Heisman Trophy winner image

If you’re looking for a breakout star for the 2024 college football season, look no further than Arizona sophomore quarterback Noah Fifita. 

Fifta earned Pac-12 Offensive Freshman of the Year honors in 2023 after going 7-2 as the Wildcats’ starter over the last nine games and ESPN’s David Hale compared him to Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels and Heisman finalist Bo Nix in their rankings of FBS starting quarterbacks ahead of the 2024 season. 

Fifita threw for 22 touchdowns and 5 interceptions over the last eight games in 2023 and completed 72 percent of his passes — Hale points out that only Oregon’s Nix and LSU’s Daniels were the only Power 5 quarterbacks with more touchdown passes in that stretch. 

Fifita and the Wildcats will have a new set of challenges in 2024 moving from the Pac-12 to the Big 12 after going 10-3 in 2023 — they’ll not only have a new conference in 2024 but a new head coach in Brent Brennan. 

Arizona opens the season at home against New Mexico on Aug. 31 and opens Big 12 play on Sept. 13 at Kansas State in what could be a showdown between Top 25 teams.

 

Tony Adame

Tony Adame Photo

Tony Adame covers the Big 12 Conference for The Sporting News. He is a graduate of Southern Oregon University and has been a sports journalist for 20 years. He has won APSE Awards for breaking news, games stories and feature writing. He is also the writer and host of the Florida Society of News Editors Award-winning podcast The Sheriff: Murder, Lies & Revenge in Okaloosa County for USA Today/Gannett.