For the first time since head coach Jedd Fisch's first season at Arizona in 2021, the Wildcats are going to start a quarterback not named Jayden de Laura, who is out for Saturday's game against No. 7 Washington with an ankle injury.
The Wildcats are set to start second-year quarterback Noah Fifita for the Pac-12 home opener at Arizona Stadium. Fifita, freshman Brayden Dorman and walk-on Cole Tannenbaum were the only quarterbacks warming up, while de Laura stood on the sidelines in his red Arizona jersey and sweatpants.
Arizona senior running back Michael Wiley is also out with a lower-body injury.
Fifita, who led Arizona on a go-ahead touchdown drive last week at Stanford when the de Laura suffered an ankle injury at the end of the third quarter, will make his first start. Fifita, who is listed at 5-11, 194 pounds, completed all four of his pass attempts in the fourth quarter against Stanford, and his 8-for-8 on the season for 69 yards.
“This won’t be his first time that he’s had to line up under center, but it certainly is a different challenge than when you go in at the end of the game against Utah or at the end of the game against Colorado when the score was out of hand,” Fisch said. “When you go into last week’s game, it kind of gives you a different feel. You’re down 17-14, you’re on the road in a game where we were the favorites, let’s call it, and he managed that well.”
Anaheim Servite quarterback Noah Fifita is “a phenomenal playmaker and a great decision-maker,” says Rivals.com recruiting expert Adam Gorney.
Fifita was one of Arizona's first commits of the 2022 recruiting class. In 32 games over four seasons at Servite High School in Anaheim, California, Fifita threw for 7,273 yards and 83 touchdowns and holds school records for career passing touchdowns, yards, and completions.
As expected, right guard Raymond Pulido is out for Saturday. Guard Leif Magnuson, a 6-5, 315-pound redshirt sophomore from Saskatchewan, Canada, will make his first start in place of Pulido.
