The Arizona Wildcats unveiled their team captains on Thursday: quarterback Noah Fifita, nickel back Treydan Stukes, safety Gunner Maldonado, center Josh Baker, right tackle Jonah Savaiinaea and linebacker Jacob Manu.
Arizona head coach Brent Brennan said the team voting for captains "was a virtual landslide."Β
"I just feel like there's such a clear leadership on this team, and I think the players feel it," Brennan said during his news conference on Thursday, as the No. 21-ranked Wildcats prepare to host New Mexico for the season opener on Saturday in Tucson.
Fifita, who was also the Pac-12 Offensive Freshman of the Year and Football Writerβs Association of American National Offensive Freshman of the Year, concluded his first season as Arizonaβs starter with 2,869 yards, 25 touchdowns and six interceptions while completing 72.4% of his pass attempts. Fifita is the only UA quarterback in program history to complete over 70% of his passes in a season.
The Arizona football program announced its 2024 captains Thursday: (from left) center Josh Baker, quarterback Noah Fifita, defensive back Gunner Maldonado, linebacker Jacob Manu, offensive lineman Jonah Savaiinaea and defensive back Treydan Stukes.
After taking over for the injured Jayden de Laura during Arizonaβs come-from-behind win at Stanford to begin Pac-12 play last season, Fifita went 7-2 as the starter, and led the Wildcats on a seven-game winning streak to end the season; the two losses to Washington and USC were by a combined nine points. Fifita stamped his breakout regular season with a school- and Territorial Cup-record 527 yards through the air along with five touchdowns in a blowout win over rival ASU in Tempe.
In Arizonaβs win over Oklahoma in the Alamo Bowl, Fifita passed for 354 yards, two touchdowns and one interception, the second-most passing yards in a bowl game in program history.
Manu, a preseason Big 12 choice, led the Pac-12 in tackles (116) last season and was named to the All-Pac-12 First Team and Associated Press All-Pac-12 First Team. Manu was the first Wildcat to lead the Pac-12 in tackles since Scooby Wright III in 2014.
The 6-5, 330-pound Savaiinaea, a likely first-round NFL Draft pick in 2025, started all 13 games for Arizona last season β 12 at right tackle, one at right guard (Alamo Bowl). Savaiinaea received a 70.2 grade by Pro Football Focus this past season. Savaiinaea had an 80.6 pass-blocking grade from PFF following his sophomore campaign in 2023.
Stukes is entering his fifth season with the Wildcats β fourth as a starter. After moving from cornerback to nickel back, which is now called "Star" in Arizona's defense, Stukes was fifth on the team in tackles (55) to go along with nine pass breakups and one interception.
In the last two seasons, Maldonado, the Alamo Bowl Defensive MVP, has been arguably the Wildcats' most improved defensive player, rising from 48Β tackles and three forced fumbles in 2022 to 81 tackles (third-most on the team), three fumble recoveries, two forced fumbles and two interceptions in 2023.
Last season, Maldonado's missed-tackle percentage dropped from 24.2% in β22 to 11.2% in β23, according to Pro Football Focus. Receiversβ yards after catch (YAC), with Maldonado in coverage, dipped from 283 yards to 166, per PFF. Maldonadoβs overall PFF grade rose from 50.9 to 77.1, and his tackling grade improved from 38.1 to 76.4.
Baker, who was recruited to Arizona by the Kevin Sumlin regime, is the most experienced UA offensive lineman with 2,375 snaps under his belt since the pandemic-influenced 2020 season, according to Pro Football Focus; 1,723 of those snaps have been at center. Baker and Stukes are two of five players on Arizona's current roster who were recruited to the UA by Sumlin.Β
No. 21 Arizona kicks off the 2024 season against New Mexico at Arizona Stadium on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN.
