Noah Fifita’s ascent to stardom with the Arizona Wildcats was hardly anticipated — even by himself. Yet, his potential was evident throughout his dominant high school career.
Where Did Arizona QB Noah Fifita Play in High School?
Fifita’s football journey took off at Servite High School in California, one of the most esteemed programs in the state. At Servite, he played 32 varsity games across four seasons alongside current Arizona teammates WR Tetairoa McMillan, TE Keyan Burnett, and LB Jacob Manu.
The Cal-Hi State Sophomore and Junior of the Year put up 499 completions, 7,273 yards, and 83 touchdowns over his high school career, all of which remain school records. He was even a dual-sport athlete, competing on the golf course. Yet, despite Fifita’s numbers, easy-to-see athletic ability, and record as a starter (21-9), he was largely underecruited.
Arizona and Cal were his Power Five scholarship offers, but only one of them made sense for the California native … and it wasn’t the school in his state.
“The love and loyalty from the coaching staff,” Fifita said when asked why he committed to the Wildcats. “They wanted me for me, never doubted me, and kept all of their promises.”
However, while McMillan, Burnett, and Manu saw the field early in Tucson, Fifita had to bide his time on the sideline. Washington State transfer Jayden de Laura, the 2021 Pac-12 Offensive Freshman of the Year, earned the starting job in 2022, and with three seasons of eligibility remaining, there was no clear path to playing time for Fifita.
“I’m not going to lie, it was hard to be patient, but I was blessed to be able to just have a guy [in de Laura] that I learned from that I really respected,” Fifita told ESPN.
With de Laura at the helm, Arizona took a major step forward, finishing 5-7 after going 1-16 across the previous two seasons. He threw for 3,685 passing yards, ranking third on the Wildcats’ all-time single-season list, solidifying his hold on the job and keeping Fifita in the periphery.
However, Fifita didn’t have to wait too much longer before playing meaningful snaps. In Week 4 against Stanford, de Laura suffered an ankle injury late in the third quarter. Down 17-14, Fifita led a nine-play, 67-yard TD drive and, one possession later, iced the game with a seven-yard completion on a crucial 3rd-and-3.
MORE: Simulate the College Football Season With CFN’s College Football Playoff Predictor
For three weeks, then-Wildcats head coach Jedd Fisch insisted publicly that de Laura would remain the starter once he was “100 percent healthy.” But after Fifita went toe-to-toe with No. 7 Washington and No. 9 USC and led Arizona to a 44-6 thrashing over No. 19 Washington State, Fisch’s stance shifted.
Fifita started the rest of the season, finishing with 2,869 passing yards, 25 TDs, and just six INTs. Yet, all the offseason brought was more uncertainty.
Washington hired Fisch as its next head coach after Kalen DeBoer left for Alabama, leaving Arizona in a state of flux.
During the 48 hours between Fisch’s departure and the Wildcats’ hiring of former San Jose State head coach Brent Brennan, Fifita discussed his options with those close to him: “Go to Washington. Stay at Arizona. Go somewhere else.”
Fifita may have committed to Arizona out of high school, but he really committed to Fisch and QBs coach Jimmie Dougherty, who also left for Washington. But one team meeting with Brennan was all it took to keep Fifita and the rest of the Wildcats loyal to the program to continue to build on their legacies in Tucson.
There may be a new head coach in town, but Fifita and Co. have the same dream: win the Big 12 Championship and make the College Football Playoff.
“That hasn’t wavered, and that’s the goal,” he said. “That’s what we’re trying to do.”
College Football Network has you covered with the latest news and analysis, rankings, transfer portal information, top 10 returning players, the 2024 college football season schedule, and much more!