Sawyer Anderson, Luke Haugo have edge in Arizona’s backup QB competition

Those players were second-year quarterbacks Sawyer Anderson and Luke Haugo and Oscar Rios, a highly touted first-year quarterback, who missed the spring due to rehab following labrum surgery on his non-throwing shoulder.

With Rios catching up physically and settling into the Wildcats’ offensive scheme in their second season under offensive coordinator Seth Doege, Arizona’s backup competition, “in my opinion right now, it’s probably between Sawyer and Luke for that No. 2 spot — mix in Oscar in there,” said Doege.

“With him not getting the entire spring, it put him behind the eight ball,” Doege said of Rios. “I’m not saying he won’t have an opportunity to play this year, but he just needs a lot of reps. There’s not a ton of reps. When you have to rep three or four different quarterbacks, there’s just not a lot of reps to go around.”

Haugo, a 6-5, 204-pound Scottsdale native, was a part of Arizona's 2025 recruiting class after a productive career at Higley High School, passing for 3,639 yards and 38 touchdowns over 22 games.

Anderson, who was recruited by Doege last year, is entering his second season at Arizona following an illustrious career at The Parish Episcopal in Dallas. The 5-11, 181-pound Anderson passed for 14,674 yards and 158 touchdowns as a four-year starter in high school, which is a Dallas-Fort Worth record. Anderson’s runs and rollout passes have been a positive development for the Wildcats since he joined last season.

“The one thing Sawyer can do, he can run,” Doege said. “He’s very explosive. … He’s one of the fastest mid-skill guys we have. He’s obviously very smart, process information extremely well. He does a great job at throwing from any arm angle, so if there are off-platform throws or times he has to create outside the pocket and he’s in an awkward position, he can still make the throw.”

Anderson “was in Braedyn Locke’s hip last year,” Doege said. Locke, Arizona’s veteran backup quarterback last season, transferred to Tarleton State to start his final year at Arizona.

“They became best friends,” Doege said of Anderson and Locke. “Listening to Braedyn and Noah go through every day of being the backup and starter, he got a ton of knowledge and a ton of preparation through that experience and it has really paid off. I want to keep seeing that consistency from him, continue to see him playing at a high level. I need to find a way to get those young guy more reps, but it’s tough, because I don’t want to take away from Noah. But he’s done a great job, he’s always prepared, he’s fun to coach and I think he has a bright future.”

Rios was an early enrollee in the spring after a productive career at Downey High School in Los Angeles. The 6-3, 170-pound Rios ended his career at Downey with 8,070 yards, 77 touchdowns and 17 interceptions, along with 2,227 rushing yards and 25 rushing touchdowns.

The four-star Rios, who competed at the "Elite 11" quarterback event last summer, is the highest-rated quarterback to sign with the Wildcats since Nic Costa in 2001.

In his first action since recovering from shoulder surgery, Rios participated in a 7-on-7 period on Wednesday and took team reps on Thursday. When Rios attempted his first passes, “you see the natural ability he has,” Fifita said.

Rios has the potential to be Fifita’s successor next season and beyond, but he’s currently catching up to Anderson and Haugo, who have both flashed abilities to be Arizona’s backup quarterback. Haugo took second-team reps during Arizona’s first practice of training camp on Wednesday, and Anderson took second-team reps on Thursday — completing first-down throws to wide receivers Jordan Ross and DJ Jordan in a team period. Anderson also completed a pass to third-year receiver Brandon Phelps, who made a diving catch down the right sideline, despite smothering coverage by first-year cornerback Kingston Spivey.

As Rios settles into life as a college football quarterback, coupled with the accrued reps between Anderson and Haugo in the spring and summer — and working under Doege for 18 months, Arizona’s backup quarterback battle will come down to Anderson and Haugo.

“The work that Luke and Sawyer have put together, they deserve it,” Doege said. “They’ve made a lot of progress and I’m excited about those two guys. They’re still young and they’re going to make young-guy mistakes. But at the same time, where they’re at in their development, it’s lightyears ahead of where I was at when I was that age. I think both of those guys have bright futures and I’m excited about their progress.”

Doege added Arizona will “make a decision pretty quick” for Arizona’s backup quarterback role.

“I want to name a No. 2 and really start dialing in those reps for those guys,” Doege said. “It’s just hard, because I want to have more. Only way to do that is prioritizing which one gets it.”

If anyone knows the backup life, it’s Fifita, who was Jayden de Laura’s backup at Arizona for the 2022 season and part of the ‘23 season, before he took over the reins of the offense following the Wildcats’ Pac-12 opener against Stanford — and ultimately becoming one of the top passers in UA football history.

Fifita’s advice to Arizona’s backup quarterbacks “is to just be themselves.”

“At the end of the day, it’s a competition, but you’re competing against yourself,” Fifita said. “You’re trying to be the best you can be, you’re trying to control your reps and opportunities. At the end of the day, the best player is going to play. They’re all doing a tremendous job in terms of process and preparation because you are talking at a high level in the quarterback room.

“Watching Saw and Luke, the way they’ve grown in the spring, the way they’re confident and playing faster and convicted, they’re taking the step in the right direction.”

Extra points

– Among the top performers on Thursday: second-year wide receiver Isaiah Mizell, who caught multiple passes from Fifita and ran for extra yards in the first team period. Mizell had one of the top plays of the day with a deep touchdown catch from Fifita down the sideline. With Charlotte transfer cornerback Dwight Bootle in coverage, Mizell won the 50-50 battle and scored the touchdown. The Orlando native is considered one of the fastest players on the team and is “night-and-day different” compared to last season, according to Doege.

– The first set of defensive backs in Arizona’s first 7-on-7 period featured Wyoming transfer cornerback Tyrese Boss, Nebraska transfer Malcolm Hartzog, USC transfer Matai Tagoa’i, UConn transfer Lee Molette and Bootle. The first drive ended with Fifita throwing an 18-yard touchdown to wide receiver Giovanni Richardson.

— The second set of defensive backs in Arizona’s second 7-on-7 period were Swayde Griffin, cornerback-converted-safety Johno Price, Northern Colorado transfer Cam Chapa, Spivey and Howard transfer Zuri Watson. The period ended with Haugo throwing a touchdown pass to West Virginia transfer receiver Rodney Gallagher III.

– Arizona is mixing and matching safeties throughout 7-on-7 and team periods. During team periods, two other safeties will stand in the back of the field and shadow pre-snap calls and alignment and mirror the safeties in the live action.

– Arizona had multiple special teams periods on Thursday. Kicker Michael Salgado-Medina, who’s entering his second season as the starter, made several attempts, including a pair of 42-yard field goals. Freshman kicker Ian French made a 35-yard field goal. Punter Chase Ridley, a freshman from Perth, Australia, had multiple sky-high punts and recorded hang times — using our stopwatch — of 4.45, 4.65, 4.81 and 4.83 seconds.

– NFL scouts from the Tennessee Titans, Indianapolis Colts, Atlanta Falcons and Carolina Panthers attended practice on Thursday.

– Former Arizona quarterback Jim Krohn and offensive lineman Glenn Parker were spotted at practice.

– Fifita and UA men’s basketball coach Tommy Lloyd will be the honorary speakers at the Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl Kickoff Luncheon at La Paloma on Oct. 1.