1 of 1: Noah Fifita’s records, legacy a testament to the QB’s loyalty to Arizona

The Super Bowl MVP texted his Manning Passing Academy roommate — Arizona offensive coordinator Seth Doege — earlier in the week before Arizona’s 42-17 win over Northern Illinois that he wanted the UA quarterback to break his career passing yards record.

All Fifita needed was 320 yards. He ended the night with 325 yards and was immediately removed from the game after setting the record on a 7-yard pitch-and-catch with wide receiver Isaiah Mizell in the fourth quarter on Saturday.

Fifita also set Arizona’s completion percentage record (with a minimum of 30 attempts), completing 31 of 34 passes (91%) and scoring five touchdowns, including four passing touchdowns to four different pass catchers. Fifita was named Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week for his record-setting performance.

“That’s a hell of a day for a quarterback, that kind of accuracy combined with that kind of production,” said Arizona head coach Brent Brennan, as the Wildcats prepare to face Washington State in Pullman on Saturday.

After Fifita broke the record, he was immediately hugged by his Arizona teammates and Foles had a video message for the Arizona quarterback on the jumbotron at Casino Del Sol Stadium.

“Knowing Nick, he was genuinely excited for Noah,” Doege said. “Sometimes, as quarterbacks, we all have egos. Let’s not pretend like we don’t. We all have egos and when you do have a record, there’s something about you that you want to protect that record. It means something to you. You spent a lot of hours — blood, sweat and tears — on playing football at a specific school to break those records. To hold that tight, that’s special to you.

“Knowing Nick, he was just genuinely excited for Noah. In Nick’s words, ‘It couldn’t have happened to a better dude. That dude is a true Wildcat,’ is what he told me. That’s what excites Nick Foles, that this guy is through and through an Arizona Wildcat. You can’t find anybody else like Noah, someone who’s as loyal and has stayed and has had the success that he’s had. Nick was super excited about it.”

Fifita said “it’s a blessing to be able to accomplish it, but doing it at home was super special, with my family being here” and he’s “super thankful for (Foles’) guidance and his support, for sure.”

“I’m extremely grateful and I give all the glory to God,” Fifita added. “But the mindset going into it was getting back on the winning track.”

Brennan called Fifita’s record “a really special moment.”

“Maybe those moments are more rare now than in college football in the past, because there’s so much movement and players transfer and all that stuff,” Brennan added. “I just keep going back to the fact that Noah Fifita has chosen Arizona every year since his senior year of high school.

“He has chosen this place, he has chosen these teammates, he’s chosen this program, this university, this city. … I’m optimistic, as he continues to play great football, that the city of Tucson is going to show up for him, because he has shown up for this place year in and year out. Everybody talks about a premier quarterback or a high-profile player at that position, to me, the most important position in sport and we have that guy here.”

Brennan is right. There may not be another player like Fifita in our lifetime. At least at Arizona.

Fifita owns multiple records at Arizona: career passing yards (10,017), single-game passing yards (527), single-game completion percentage (minimum of 20 and 30 snaps), career passing touchdowns (80) and single-season touchdowns (29).

Fifita will be at the top of every passing category by season’s end. If he’s not at the top in certain categories, he’ll be near the top. In the transfer portal era and the constantly-moving landscape that is college football right now, stories like Fifita are increasingly rare.

“That is my thing with Noah Fifita: the whole country should be talking about this kid, not just based on how he plays, but the choices he has made throughout his career here,” Brennan said. “That’s rare. So many other people have jumped ship and have taken the money and have gone somewhere different or looked for something new where the grass is greener.

“That guy stayed here and watered the grass here and made it into something truly special.”

Fifita is one of five senior starting quarterbacks this season who started and ended their careers at one school. Doege said “it’s going to be extremely difficult” for any player to match or exceed Fifita’s UA career “unless the kid stays at a school for four years and he starts for four years,” Doege said. “Not only does he start for all four years, he stays healthy for four years. When we talk about Noah, there’s a lot of things to talk about, but one thing we forget is how durable he is for how little he is. … He’s been extremely durable.”

Fifita has become the standard for future quarterbacks — and Doege is using Fifita’s success as a pitch to quarterbacks who are considering playing for the Wildcats.

“I want somebody to come try and break it,” Doege said. “I want that mentality that somebody can be similar but has the edge and a personal goal of breaking Noah Fifita’s records. I don’t know if it’s attainable, but I want somebody with that mentality. As long as he stays healthy, it might be out of reach.”

The records, especially the career passing yards milestone, are a reflection of his loyalty to Arizona.

When his loyalty to Arizona was put to the test after the coach who recruited him to Arizona, Jedd Fisch, left for the same role at Washington in 2024, Fifita chose the UA. He chose Brennan. After Arizona had a rocky start to Brennan’s tenure and finished 4-8 the season after winning 10 games, including the Alamo Bowl, Fifita chose Arizona again.

“The love he showed, how genuine he was as a person, was special,” Fifita said of Brennan. “That’s what got me to stay the first time. A lot of people could’ve moved on from me after going 4-8 and leading the Big 12 in interceptions, but he never wavered. His faith in me never wavered and he continued to be the same person for me, whether we were up or if we were down. For him to continue to believe in me and continue to give me opportunities, it’s all you can ask for as a quarterback. I’ll follow him wherever he leads us.”

After the 2025 season, Doege asked Fifita if the quarterback was declaring for the NFL Draft, entering the transfer portal for a significant payday from another Power 4 team or staying at Arizona.

“‘As long as the crew’s here, I’m with ya’ll,’” Doege recalled. “Because this was a special place for him and he wanted to finish what he started. He’s obviously the glue of our offense. He’s the leader of our football team, but he’s the glue when it comes to offensive play.”

Fifita chose to stay at Arizona “for the people, for the people in the building,” he said.

“We have team goals and at the end of the day, that’s what we’re trying to accomplish,” Fifita said. “I didn’t come back for the records. It’s a blessing to be able to do that, but for us, we have bigger sights in mind and it starts this week beating Washington State.”

There will come a time in the next several months where Fifita’s NFL Draft stock comes into conversations and despite his 5-8 stature, “Noah Fifita is the exception to every rule” in the NFL, said Doege.

“If you spend a week with Noah, come back and let’s talk after that and you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about,” added Doege. “It doesn’t matter if he’s drafted in the first or if he’s an undrafted free agent, if he gets in the building, he’s staying in that building, I guarantee you that. He’s going to make that roster. Right now, me and Noah, we’re only worried about Washington State.

“That’s all we care about. The cool thing about Noah, we can talk about these records — and it was an awesome moment — but, I promise you, he’s not thinking about that anymore. All he’s thinking about is beating the Cougs. … His full focus is his process.”

Added Fifita: “I’m not too worried about that right now. I’m just worried about going to Pullman and getting the win and stacking wins.”

Fifita and the Wildcats return to Pullman for the first time since 2023, when Arizona and Washington State were Pac-12 opponents — and Fifita got his first win as Arizona’s starting quarterback after leading the Wildcats to a come-from-behind victory over Stanford as the fourth-quarter substitute for — ironically — former Washington State quarterback Jayden de Laura, along with one-possession losses to national runner-up Washington and a Caleb Williams-led USC team in Los Angeles.

Fifita quarterbacked Arizona to a 44-6 win over to a Washington State team led by Tennessee Titans quarterback Cam Ward. That win sparked a seven-game winning streak for Arizona, which was capped by the Alamo Bowl win over Oklahoma. Fifita trails Ortege Jenkins by three games as the winningest quarterback in Arizona football history. Fifita, who has 25 wins at Arizona, needs four more wins to become the winningest quarterback in UA history.

The next step could happen at the location Fifita got his first win as Arizona’s starter.

“It brings back memories going back to Pullman,” Fifita said. “I remember the feeling in that locker room afterwards was super special, just being able to get that first win under my belt. That’s what started it all off.

“Looking forward to getting back to Pullman and trying to do the same job.”

Extra points

— Doege, on Washington State: “When you watch them, they’re just tough, physical, gritty teams. And it doesn’t matter who the coach is. Whether it’s (Mike Leach), (Nick Rolovich), (Kirby Moore), those guys just play hard. … There’s only one acceptable way to play this game and it’s with violent intentions and 100% effort, 100 miles per hour, 100% of the time, that’s the way you play football. Even if you make a mistake, make it fast.

“When you watch Washington State, they’re freaking playing. They play freaking fast and they play hard. Are they limited in some areas? Yes. They’re a Group of Six, limited-resources school, so they don’t have the same resources to go pick whatever (cornerbacks) or safeties or linebackers they want, but they find guys that are about who they are and they play really hard and they make a lot of plays and they play football the right way. We have a challenge ahead of us when it comes to physicality and who can do their job better.”

— Scouts from the Los Angeles Chargers, Miami Dolphins and San Francisco 49ers attended Arizona’s practice on Tuesday.