Arizona football kickstarts Heisman campaign for quarterback Noah Fifita

FRISCO, Texas — About 30 minutes before the Arizona football players spoke to reporters at Big 12 Media Days at Ford Center on Wednesday, a contingent of tripods and cameras were set up in front of one of the Wildcats' tables. 

Arizona had two tables in the breakout session; one for quarterback Noah Fifita and right tackle Tristan Bounds, the other for wide receivers Chris Hunter and Tre Spivey. 

As the minutes counted down, more college football reporters swarmed to the table on the right — the one with Fifita's nameplate. 

The attention was fixated on Arizona's four-year starting quarterback and All-Big 12 selection. With Bounds by his side, Fifita received most of the questions during the 15-minute session. Most of the questions Bounds was asked were about Fifita, who Bounds called "an elite leader of our offense and our team."

"He's a great teammate, a great friend and somebody that I'm super happy to have with us, not only for his ability, but his ability to build," Bounds added. "As a quarterback, it's not difficult to say he's the best quarterback in the country.

"We're really blessed to have him behind us. He makes our job a lot of easier, because he's so efficient with his reads, the ball gets out and has the ability to make things happen with his feet. We're extremely happy to have him. I love this guy." 

Once the offensive interviews ended and Arizona's defensive representatives — cornerback Jay'Vion Cole, linebacker Taye Brown and defensive end Tre Smith — sat at the tables, the crowd for the Wildcats was about five total reporters.

Fifita, who attended his third Big 12 media day since becoming the starter in 2023, was the main attraction and for good reason.

"He's the greatest quarterback in the nation," Hunter said. "We do everything we can to make sure the whole world knows that."

Same with Arizona's communications team. Minutes before Arizona head coach Brent Brennan took the main stage at Big 12 Media Days, UA reps were handing out "Noah Fifita for Heisman" flyers to members of the media. 

The flyer had a list of Fifita's skills:

– Elite accuracy

– Dynamic leader

– Elusive in the pocket

– Elite decision maker

– Clutch performer

– Deep ball precision

– Competitive toughness

Fifita's Heisman flyer also included his résumé from his time at Arizona, like the Arizona quarterback being the program's all-time passing touchdowns leader (73), holding the UA's single-season touchdowns record (29) and having the third-most career passing yards (9,183) at Arizona. 

Fifita, who became the first Arizona quarterback in 50 years to earn first-team all-conference honors last season, was also named a preseason All-Big 12 quarterback earlier this week. Fifita said the preseason All-Big 12 nod "is a blessing but preseason rankings have never mattered to me, whether we're at the top or the bottom."

"At the end of the day, the only rankings that matter the most are the postseason," Fifita said. "We gotta go to work and prove each other right." 

Still, Fifita's awards and accomplishments — including his Pac-12 Freshman Offensive Player of the Year honor and winning the Territorial Cup twice — were on the Heisman flyer. Additionally, Fifita's community service achievements with his nonprofit group, "First Down Faith Foundation," were highlighted.

Brennan said, "Fifita definitely has a Heisman résumé." 

"Noah Fifita is the best story in college football," Brennan said. "He's an incredibly good football player, but he's also this rare human being that chooses the right things every day. He's a man of great faith. He's a great teammate. He's a great leader. He's super engaged in our community. He's got a nonprofit.

"He always finds ways to do extra, to give, and I think that's rare in today's day and age. I think so many kids are just taking all the time, and I get it, that's the culture; that's life. But this young man, he doesn't only kick ass on Saturdays, he kicks ass every single day of the week. He is as special as it gets."

Fifita has the 35th-best odds on FanDuel to win the Heisman Trophy this season; six Big 12 quarterbacks have higher odds to win college football's most prestigious individual award.

Even though he's the first UA quarterback to earn preseason all-conference honors, Fifita isn't getting the same buzz as, say, former UA quarterback Khalil Tate, who was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated with a "Hand him the Heisman" caption in 2018. 

"In my opinion, he doesn't get the national attention he deserves," said Arizona second-year offensive coordinator Seth Doege. "This guy is a Heisman Trophy candidate, there's no question about it. There's only one guy selected first-team All-Big 12, and that was Noah Fifita, and I feel like people forgot about that.

"I feel like I'm ranting, but I want to protect this guy because I feel like he's getting disrespected half the time. ... On the other end of that, that keeps our edge. He's been backed in the corner his whole life. That's when he plays his best, when he feels like no one believes in him, because no one has believed in him his entire life. Well, good.

"Keep not writing about him. Keep writing about these other dudes that haven't done anything just because they're big and pretty. We'll show you." 

Added Doege: "People look at him and they see a 5-8 quarterback. 'Well, he can't be that good.' Guess what? Turn the tape on. I can't tell you how many times I get text messages and compliments I get from former colleagues, guys in the business, OCs, guys that I know that turn on the tape and are studying us or they just want to see what Noah is like.

"I get a ton of text messages that say, 'Hey, man, your quarterback is a freaking dog.' He's a warrior. That's the best way to describe him, he's a warrior." 

One of the most notable traits Hunter has observed since becoming teammates with Fifita in 2022, is the quarterback's work ethic. 

"He's easily the hardest-working dude in the whole building — coaches included, and that's not putting anyone down, it just shows how special he is," Hunter said. "When we go to the indoor (practice facility), he's already in there an hour or 30 minutes before. He just wants to be great, and he's super humble. He won't let anyone deter him from his goal or put anyone down.

"When you mix humility with a work ethic and smartness for the game and talent, that's the recipe to be the best."

Fifita is also "a leader through and through," said Spivey, who's entering his second season at Arizona after playing the first two seasons at Kansas State. 

"As receivers, we gotta trust him, his process and know that he's got our back," Spivey said. "I feel like it's huge for us to have his back. We want to go out there and give him that Heisman. That's all we've been talking about, just making sure that Noah gets that Heisman this year. We're just continuing to work and growing through the process."

Another component to Fifita's illustrious career at Arizona is his commitment. He's one of five senior quarterbacks at the FBS level to spend their entire career at one school. Fifita has played for three offensive play-callers and two head coaches.

The rollercoaster of his time as a starter has included a 10-win season — one of four in UA history — and a 4-8 season, followed by a 9-4 season. Through the ups and downs, Fifita has stayed in Tucson every step of the way.  

"It's a testament to his loyalty," Spivey said. "The loyalty to the school, his friends, his family, fans, that shows that he's a leader through and through. When we all talked about coming back, hearing that voice from Noah, who had every opportunity to explore anywhere else, 'No, I want to be here, this is family,' it reinforced that family feel and the support we all have for each other."

As much attention as Fifita received at Big 12 Media Days, "I don't think this year is about me," he said. 

"We have expectations as a team," Fifita said. "We have goals as a team that we believe is possible. My job is to do whatever I gotta do to help our team achieve those accomplishments.

"I think we have the personnel, we have the coaches to do something special. We gotta go to work to go do it."