Arizona QB Noah Fifita 'finding his voice' as leader of Wildcats

When Arizona hired Seth Doege, the offensive coordinator heard all of the well-documented things said about UA quarterback Noah Fifita.

Doege said he was familiar with the “super talented” Fifita as “a great teammate” and a “very humble” person, but there was still another gear for Arizona’s two-year starter at quarterback, who’s now a redshirt junior: finding his voice.

“When I first got the job, everyone was telling me, ‘Hey, we need this guy to be vocal and we need this guy to be more of a presence while talking, because he’s so humble and such a great teammate,’ “ Doege said. “He’s all about doing his job and he’s great at doing his job.”

Fifita “has always been such a good player, so people naturally lean towards him,” said Arizona head coach Brent Brennan, but leading by example is “just the price of admission.”

“Whether something really good happened or something not good happened, your role as a leader is you have to speak up,” Brennan said. “It’s not enough to just model the way. ... In order to truly lead in those moments of crisis or high-level success or everything in between, you have to be the one driving it and that’s where I’ve seen him make incredible strides. He’s getting more comfortable and you’re hearing his voice more in the practice environment, in the huddle, on the sideline. It’s been really positive.”

In fairness to Fifita, he was one of the player representatives after losses in Arizona’s 4-8 season last year and often shouldered the blame for the Wildcats’ rocky season in Brennan’s first season at the helm.

As far as holding his teammates accountable and using his voice in a fiery manner, Fifita didn’t add that skill until the second half of the spring. After team periods, when Arizona’s defense clobbered a UA offense adjusting to Doege’s up-tempo style and playbook, “most of those times, I’m calling the offense up to challenge them and say, ‘Hey, we’re down 14 (points), what are we going to do about it?’ “

In the last “four or five practices” of Arizona’s 15-practice spring schedule, Fifita “kicked me out of the huddle, so he can take it over,” Doege said.

“The times that he did take over, it was pretty special to watch,” Doege said. “I’m excited about Noah. I’ve never been around someone like him, as talented and as great of a teammate as he is. He’s always had the pulse of the team, but now he’s finding his voice amongst the team — and those guys will listen.

“He’s by far the best player we have on offense and he makes us go. Those guys are bought into who he is and I’m super proud of him. From a scheme standpoint, I feel like there isn’t anything he can’t do. ... I think he can be really special and I think he’s the best quarterback in this league. I’m excited about him.”

Added Arizona defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales: “And (Fifita) has the pulse of the entire team and not just the offense, which is awesome. When you have that, you have something special.”

Gonzales previously coached at Arizona State under former head coach Herm Edwards and Fifita “is every bit as talented” as former ASU quarterback and current Washington Commanders star Jayden Daniels, a Heisman Trophy winner and NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year.

“He’s not 6-foot-2, but the leadership skills that Coach Doege was talking about, it’s special,” Gonzales said of Fifita.

Fifita attributed his growth this spring to Doege, who Fifita dubbed “the best offensive coordinator and the best person I’ve been around.”

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“I’m extremely excited about him as a player-caller, but more importantly as a leader,” Fifita said. “His leadership skills are second to none. What he’s been able to do with this offense in 15 practices in terms of execution, mentality and belief, I’ve never seen it before. We’re going to follow him to the end of the earth.”

The mentality? “Expecting to score,” Doege said. In 2024, Arizona’s stagnant offense averaged 21.8 points per game and ranked 114th nationally and had the second-worst scoring offense in the Big 12 after having the 18th-best scoring offense in college football at 34.6 points per contest in 2023. Having a high-scoring offense is “a mentality,” Doege said.

“When we touch the grass, I don’t want hope that we score,” Doege said. “I don’t want to go three-and-out, I want to score points every time the ball is put down. He exemplifies it. He gives me confidence as a play-caller and it’s almost like, ‘Noah is out there? We’re good. Something good is going to happen.’”

In the last two seasons, Fifita’s top weapon was longtime best friend and teammate Tetairoa McMillan, who could be the first receiver selected in the first round of the NFL Draft on Thursday.

Arizona dedicated the offseason to adding speedy receivers from the transfer portal and high school level to complement returning receiver Chris Hunter III, including Washington State transfer Kris Hutson, Chattanooga transfer Javin “Nunu” Whatley, New Mexico transfer Luke Wysong and Kansas State wide receiver Tre Spivey III. Redshirt freshman Brandon Phelps and Spivey have emerged as Arizona’s big-bodied receivers to succeed McMillan at “X” receiver.

“(Fifita) has a lot of confidence in those guys,” Doege said. “Obviously, we have a lot to work on and to improve over these next couple of months, but he’s very confident in the guys that we brought in and the guys that are here. ... He is a special, special player and we gotta do everything we can to build around him and continue to develop around him, because he gives us a chance to win every given week.”

Hutson “had a really good spring” and is “as dynamic as anyone in the country,” Doege said. Fifita said Hutson, who is entering his senior season, “brings a veteran mindset, a swagger and moxie in that room that is very helpful.”

“With the pieces that we’ve been able to put around him, he’s got comfort with knowing he can distribute the ball evenly all over the field,” Brennan said of Fifita. “It doesn’t matter if it’s the receivers, (running) backs or the tight ends, he’s got confidence and an extremely high level of comfort with who he’s delivering the ball to.”

Doege’s offense is tailored for Fifita to get the ball out of his hands quickly. Last season, Fifita had the second-worst time-to-throw average (3.14 seconds) in college football with a minimum of 400 drop-backs, according to Pro Football Focus. He also led college football with 39 throwaways. Under former head coach Jedd Fisch, Fifita’s average TTT time was 2.55 seconds with seven throwaways in 2023, albeit Arizona had two NFL offensive linemen (Jordan Morgan and Jonah Savaiinaea), two NFL receivers (McMillan and Jacob Cowing) and an NFL tight end (Tanner McLachlan).

Fifita said Doege has helped Arizona’s offense “with the identity aspect of it,” which is playing with pace and snappiness “and we look forward to continue building that culture and that belief this summer.”

When the Wildcats return from summer break and begin fall training, Doege has lofty expectations for his star pupil and labeled Fifita as “the best quarterback in the (Big 12) without a doubt.”

“This dude is different,” Doege said. “He has picked up every single piece of information I’ve ever given him. Every now and then, he’ll want a ball back or maybe a read, but it’s not because he didn’t know what to do. In the moment, he processed it and made the wrong decision through a specific look or he anticipated something that didn’t happen and he got pushed back or moved off his spot.

“This dude is phenomenal. He’s right where I want him to be and I feel like I can push it even further with him. He challenges me to figure out what else can we do? What do I need to hone in on? Because he’s so talented with so many different things. I love that kid. ... He has taken over this entire team and is using his voice.”

Photos: Arizona wraps their spring season with a showcase at Arizona Stadium