Noah's arc: 'Family, faith and football' drive Arizona QB Fifita, whose rise parallels UA program's ascent

(Editor's note: The below story was first published in December 2023, in the lead-up to Arizona's eventual win over Oklahoma in the Alamo Bowl. The Star published an updated version in August 2024, shortly before the start of the UA's new season — its first under coach Brent Brennan.)

SAN ANTONIO — Playing quarterback may not have been in Noah Fifita's bloodline, but it's always been in his DNA.

The Arizona redshirt freshman signal-caller, who is leading the 14th-ranked Wildcats against No. 12 Oklahoma in the Valero Alamo Bowl on Thursday, hails from a defensive front-seven family.

"The thing about football was it was a part of my family," he said. "In my mind, that was a way to make them proud.

"I was forced to play football, but I loved it so much because of my family."

Fifita's father, Les Fifita, was a linebacker during his playing days. Les' brother, Steve Fifita, played defensive tackle at Utah under Urban Meyer, before a stint in the NFL with the Miami Dolphins and New England Patriots. Noah Fifita's other uncle, Kelly Talavou, played defensive tackle for the Baltimore Ravens.

"We've always been a defensive family," Noah Fifita said.

So when Fifita first started playing youth football for the Fountain Valley Barons in Southern California as a 4-year-old, he followed the path of his family members. That was short-lived. As Fifita, today officially listed at 5-11 on the UA football roster, put it, there's "a funny story" to how he became a quarterback.

"They actually put me at linebacker and offensive tackle my first year," he said, "but our quarterback couldn't take a snap and my dad was the head coach."

So, naturally, Les Fifita moved Noah to quarterback because he was the only player on the team he could "cuss out at that age," Noah said leading up to this week's Alamo Bowl.

"He put me at quarterback because I could take a snap, and then my grandpa taught me how to throw the ball. And the rest is history," said Fifita, who, 16 years later, became the Pac-12's Offensive Freshman of the Year, the UA football program's record holder for most passing yards in a single game (527) and the centerpiece of a fast-rising UA program hoping to become the fourth team in program history to achieve 10 wins in a season.

Les Fifita noticed "after the first few practices, our quarterbacks that we tried couldn't take a snap without looking at the ball."

"Driving home with Noah, I was like, 'Hey, do you think you could take a snap and put your hand under the center's actual butt?' He goes, 'Yeah, I think I can do that,' " Les Fifita said. "So then it went from that to, 'Noah, do you think you can fake it to this guy and then give it to this guy?' He was like, 'Yeah, I can do that.' And then it went to, 'Hey, do you think you can fake it to this guy, fake it to this guy and then give it to this guy?' 'Yeah, I can do that.'

"Then I just started making stuff up and said, 'Can you fake it to this guy, fake it to this guy, roll out and throw it?' He said, 'Yeah, I can do that.' Little by little he just kept doing it and realized he can be a quarterback."

Origin story

Fifita, whose full name is Noah Malakai Fifita, is named after his non-blood-related uncle Manoa Pouono (who went by Noa without the "h"), a former offensive tackle at Fresno State who is now the offensive line coach at SoCal powerhouse Mater Dei High School; Fifita's younger brother, Dash Fifita, is a sophomore linebacker for the Monarchs.

Pouono and Noah's grandfather, Steve Fifita Sr., come from Tongan families who migrated to the U.S. "over 40 years ago"; Noah's mother's family originates from the Philippines. Per Pouono, there were "eight or nine families that settled out here in Orange County," and most of the SoCal Tongan immigrants worked at the NGK Spark Plugs manufacturing plant.

"All of our parents worked at the same job," Pouono said. "That's how they settled out here in Orange County.

"That's why we all call each other brothers and sisters, because our families were all here when we were born."

Before Pouono played football at FSU, Les Fifita and Noah Fifita's mother, Winnona Fifita, called him to break the news about their first child's name.

"Still to this day, I'm so honored," Noah said.

The Fifitas are grounded in their Methodist Christian faith. Every night at 9 p.m., a tradition started by Steve Sr., the Fifita family recited prayers that sometimes lasted 20 minutes.   

"The biggest thing with him is family, faith and football," Arizona star receiver Tetairoa McMillan said of Noah, his teammate and longtime friend. "He puts God first and relies on him and knows without him, nothing is possible. His faith in God, his family and his ability is why he (succeeds), for sure."

Amid the success this year for Noah Fifita, the Bible verse Galations 6:9 resonated with the UA quarterback, which reads "let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."

Translation, in Fifita's words: "Staying focused, just being in the moment and not letting success affect my mindset."

Poise and leadership

Fifita's teammates at Arizona — running back Michael Wiley, tight end Tanner McLachlan and wide receiver Jacob Cowing — described Fifita as calm, cool, collected, and as a great leader and professional. He didn't always have poise, but a youth soccer game long before his football career changed that.

"He cried the whole game," Les Fifita said. "As we're coming home, I'm yelling at him and then put him in a room and I told everybody to not talk to him. He sat there and cried in the room for maybe an hour by himself. The next game he had like two goals. He ended up with 10 goals one game.

"He's always been receptive, because at the end of the day I love him and he knows that."

His father is his "biggest role model and biggest idol," yet has "always been my biggest fan but also my biggest critic," Noah Fifita said.

"When people are talking highly of me, he's the one to bring me down to earth," Fifita said with a smirk. "He's the one to keep me humble and tell me what I need to do better."

The older Fifita has nitpicked Arizona's quarterback all the way down to his body language.

"The way I carry myself on the sideline, things I do that I don't recognize I'm doing, he talks about it and brings it to my attention," Noah said. "Regardless of how good the game is, he'll bring up those couple bad plays that I had and be critical. When everyone is talking about the broken record (at Arizona State), he's the one that's bringing up an interception or a missed throw.

"He's a big role model because of his tough love."

The younger Fifita unintentionally became a role model for other family members, including Steve Fifita and his aunt, Naite Fifita, Steve and Les' sister. When Noah's parents worked, Naite babysat and they played outside together, whether it was football or other physical activities.

"At a young age, he was disciplined to ask what time it was, because his father told him he had to go down for a nap," Naite said. "As his aunt, I would say, 'Who cares about a nap? You don't need a nap.' But he would repeat exactly what his dad told him: 'Leaders have to rest. I have to take a nap because I'm a leader.' "

When Naite was a freshman in college, she sometimes had others watch Noah until one day he cried and chased her down the street until she noticed him in the rear-view mirror.

"I turned around, picked him up and never went back to class," she said. "The joke that circulated around the family is Noah was the reason I dropped out of college." 

Before Noah attended Servite High School in Anaheim, Naite drove him one hour — one way — from Huntington Beach to Corona to train at Winner Circle Athletics and Wellness Center and "talk about things outside of football."

"I got to really pour into him during those long drives. The main message we talked about was every member of the family has a role for the family as a whole," she said. "Doesn't matter if you're the youngest or the oldest in the family.

"In a Pacific Islander family, you have a role."

His role for Naite? Challenge her in school. Within the same year Fifita graduated from Servite, Naite earned a degree from UC Irvine. 

"I dropped out because of Noah, but he was my inspiration to go back," she said.

While Arizona's quarterback nudged his aunt back to school, he brought his Uncle Steve back to football. After Steve was cut by the Patriots, he "was pretty depressed" and "sat in the house and didn't do much or watch football or anything," he said.

"Les talked me into going out and helping Noah on one of his youth teams," Steve said. "I was a little hesitant, and then I went out there and fell in love with the game again." 

Said Noah: "Football was how I connected with him. Every time he came home, he would always come watch my games. Those were always the biggest games for me growing up."

When Steve became an assistant coach at Idaho State, Noah, then a middle-schooler, attended one of the fully padded high school camps in Pocatello, Idaho, as a guest visitor for another family member being recruited by colleges.

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During a scrimmage period, Les told Steve to "throw (Noah) in there."

"I knew he was good, but I didn't know how good," Steve said. "I just heard stories and seen stuff on social media. He's an eighth-grade kid and we have high schoolers out there, kids we're recruiting, in full pads. The coach who was running the drill had the same reaction as me, like, 'Are you sure?' 'Dad said it's OK, so let's put him in there.' Noah goes in there and just starts carving these guys up and goes down the field and scores.

"I just remember looking at Noah and said, 'Holy (expletive), this kid is freaking good.' That was the first time I realized how good he was. Nothing fazed him. He was like, 'What?' And then just started laughing about it. I was a little worried when I first put him in, but he handled it with ease and drove them down."

Noah didn't see his uncle a ton growing up, "but when I did, I always tried to make a good impression," he said.

"It was a little scrimmage, but he threw me in the scrimmage and I don't really remember that, but my whole life and entire career was to make him proud," Noah said. "The man I am today is because of my family."

'Nalo and Kolo'

After playing for the Fountain Valley Barons, Fifita finished his youth football career with the Orange County Buckeyes and led "Juice County" to a 14U national championship. That's where he met McMillan, his best friend, also known as "Nalo" for his hometown of Waimanalo, Hawaii; Fifita is nicknamed "Kolo," for Kolomotu'a, Tonga.

"Noah was one of the first ones to introduce himself to T-Mac when he first moved out here from Hawaii," said Wes Taylor, former "Juice County" and Servite assistant coach. "When T-Mac first got here, he was the new guy to the group. Once Noah introduced himself, it made him feel comfortable and he started opening up more."

Six years later, with a high school career together in between, Fifita and McMillan are still together and among the top quarterback-receiver tandems in college football; against rival ASU, Fifita and McMillan set records for most passing yards (527) and receiving yards (266), respectively, in a Territorial Cup game. 

"You guys are seeing now what I saw at an early age," Taylor said. "It's almost like they know what each other's moves are going to be. That's important to have as a quarterback-receiver duo."

The close bond is intact off the field, too. Fifita and McMillan host the "Island Time in the Desert" podcast and video series, complete with interviews, debates and other topical discussions. 

"We're starting to take it more serious now because now we're in a space where more people are listening," Fifita said. 

Added McMillan: "We're with each other 25/8 while we're at the facility. Away from the facility, we always want to be with each other, whether it's shooting some hoops, play video games, do the podcast, watch Christmas lights. We're normal people at the end of the day."

Experiencing change, staying patient 

Fifita, McMillan and fellow Servite teammates Jacob Manu and Keyan Burnett collectively signed with Arizona's stacked 2022 recruiting class.

"What I love about Noah is he committed to us when Arizona was on a 12-game losing streak," UA coach Jedd Fisch said Wednesday. "He stayed with us when we went 1-11. If that doesn't speak to his character, I don't know what does."

For the first time in his life, Noah Fifita was living away from Orange County. Thankfully for him, his three closest friends were joining him for the ride.   

"The hardest thing for us as humans is change — going to new environments — but it's even harder when you have to do it by yourself," Les Fifita said. "But if you go through it with three of your best friends, they just had a step above everybody. Going to college with your best friends and guys who know you outside of football, it's a big deal. It plays a big part in the culture and wanting to stay together."

The Fifita-McMillan on-field connection was, however, paused for a little over a year. Until a few weeks into the 2023 season, Fifita was the UA's understudy to original starter Jayden de Laura. That lasted 16 games over parts of two seasons. When de Laura suffered an ankle injury at the end of the third quarter in Arizona's come-from-behind win at Stanford, Fifita was inserted into the lineup and had, as Fisch has often said this season, "no flinch."

Steve Fifita compared Noah Fifita Wally-Pipping Arizona's former starter — de Laura announced this week he'll be entering the transfer portal after the Alamo Bowl — to when Alex Smith replaced an injured Brett Elliott at Utah in 2003 and became a Heisman Trophy finalist and No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft.

"When Alex came in, you could see the demeanor change. Everyone knew Alex was going to be good, and Brett was a stud, too, and never did anything to lose his spot. But when Alex's time came, he grabbed it and ran. He was ready," said Steve Fifita, who was on that 10-2 Utah team.

"It feels like that what's happened with Noah. He just always stayed ready. Everyone knew he was going to be good, but when his chance came, he just ran with it."

Like Smith, Noah Fifita hasn't let go of that QB1 spot since he got his shot. He's passed for 2,515 yards, 23 touchdowns and five interceptions while completing 73.6% of his attempts — the latter the fourth-best mark in Division I football. After his first two starts against Washington and USC — defeats by a combined nine points, with the latter in triple overtime — the Wildcats haven't lost. They ended the regular season on a six-game win streak — the longest stretch for the UA since 1998. 

Les Fifita's message to his son: "'Just be ready. Just do you and don't have any animosity, because that's the worst thing to have. It just weighs you down. Man, just be happy. When it's your time, it's your time.'

"God knew when he was going to be ready and now we're here. He's never backslid in. A lot of people kept saying, 'Once he gets on the field, he's not coming off the field.' I think people felt it. I'm a believer. I think (this) year for him, to me, it's just God's timing more than anything else." 

Preparation and perfection are Noah Fifita's M.O. He's toes the line of OCD at home. Besides every label in his kitchen and refrigerator facing out neatly, "the towels have to be aligned a certain way and everything is lined up so perfectly," Les Fifita said.

"His house is super organized," Pouono said. "It's a reflection on his preparation for the game."

Noah Fifita once discovered that his brother had used his shower during a visit hours later "because the angles of his shampoo and body wash were different," Winnona Fifita said. 

"Noah found out that way," she said. "He's crazy."

On the football field and in the film room, Fifita is "an incredible preparer," Fisch said.

"He's somebody that not only does everything right off the field, he does everything right on the field," said the third-year UA coach. "I would say this: If you have great habits off the field, you usually have great habits on the field."

In high school, Taylor monitored Servite players watching film on "Hudl," a well-known website and app used by coaches and players to study opponents or compile highlights. Taylor said Fifita's average screen time for Hudl was "beyond five or six hours."

"That's equivalent to my investment into the game," Taylor said. "An average high school kid is investing two hours every week to film. It speaks volumes to why he's able to be successful at a young age."

Said Steve Fifita: "It's cliché for college coaches to ask players, 'Do you love this game?' Most people like this game, maybe some think they love it."

"But Noah really loves the boring stuff that people don't."

God's plan

Noah Fifita's breakout season isn't a surprise for his family and close friends. 

"I've always expected him to be great at what he's doing," Les Fifita said. "It's not a shocker to us, but I'm happy that he's helping his team, helping Tucson, and he gets to live his dream out."

Playing in a bowl game "is what we've been talking since I've been here — being able to play in December," Noah Fifita said.

"I've been telling my family the last two years that this is going to be the last year we celebrate Christmas," he said.

Behind Fifita's leadership, the Wildcats have constructed one of the most memorable seasons in program history with plenty of potential for next season thanks to the lion's share of Arizona starters returning for the program's inaugural season in the Big 12. The Wildcats could set the tone for the offseason with a win over an outgoing Big 12 team on Thursday and be in the expanded College Football Playoff discussion for 2024. 

"This whole process has been great. The best part about it is being able to play with these guys," Arizona's quarterback said. "I'll say it over and over again: We've got some good people in this building, coaches, players and support staff.

"It's been a blessing."