Michael Lev: Carve spots on Arizona’s ‘Mount Passmore’ for Noah Fifita, Tetairoa McMillan

Make room on Arizona Football’s Mount Rushmore.

Or is it Mount Passmore?

Noah Fifita and Tetairoa McMillan aren’t going anywhere. At least not anytime soon.

The quarterback and the receiver. The dynamic duo. Best friends forever. Wildcats For Life.

Our humble heroes.

The words they spoke and the actions they took Saturday — announcing their return, leading their teammates onto the McKale Center court — was the stuff of legend. UA fans everywhere, the city of Tucson, heck, even us media hacks — we will never forget what they did and what it meant.

Instead of following the money — instead of pursuing something purportedly bigger and better — they elected to stay in a place they can call home as long as they so desire. They picked Arizona’s red and blue over green — or purple or crimson or scarlet ...

Their gesture — their choice — reminded me of what went down the last time a UA coach hit the eject button.

In late June 2021, after Jay Johnson left Arizona to become the baseball coach at LSU, star catcher Daniel Susac announced he’d be staying at Arizona. Mind you, this was several days before Chip Hale was named coach.

I messaged Susac’s dad, joking that Daniel would never have to buy a drink in this town again. Nick Susac told me that Daniel doesn’t drink. Of course.

But you get the point.

By choosing Arizona over whatever other lucrative options they had — probably more than we’ll ever know — Fifita and McMillan cemented their legacies here. Wildcat Nation is indebted to them.

In the case of Tucson real estate mogul Humberto Lopez — the man who puts the “don” in “donor” — that’s literally the case.

Lopez is a capital-B Booster when it comes to UA athletics. His company, HSL Properties, hosted an event for the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona on Friday. Fifita and McMillan were there for over an hour, signing autographs and accepting donations.

Colleague Justin Spears and I dropped by to try to talk to them. We spent most of our time interviewing Lopez in the HSL conference room as employees shuttled in and out of the building.

At one point, Lopez led Fifita and McMillan down a hallway, presumably to his office. Maybe I’m being hyperbolic here, but that meeting might have changed the trajectory of UA football.

What was the gist of the conversation?

“Whatever you do, I’m gonna respect you,” Lopez told us. “You stay here, you got a friend for life. I’ll mentor you. I’ll help you. Financially, I’ll give you advice. (When) you get your agents, I’ll make sure that your agents are honest.

“Whatever decision you want to make, it’s up to you.”

Lopez added this: “When you start throwing that much money around ... it’s hard to say no.”

He wasn’t referring to himself as the money thrower. But it’s naïve to think NIL wasn’t part of this.

However, knowing what we know about Fifita and McMillan, I’m confident in saying money wasn’t the driving force behind their decision. Those two are built different — beyond their athletic abilities. Remember: McMillan flipped from Oregon to Arizona in part because Jedd Fisch and his staff didn’t push too hard.

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Their talent is extraordinary, of course. We wouldn’t have been breathlessly awaiting their next move if it weren’t.

McMillan is on track to become the greatest wide receiver in UA history — maybe the greatest overall player. He’s on pace to break Bobby Wade’s school record for receiving yards in just three seasons — and it appears Wade himself will guide T-Mac to that milestone. How ’bout that for a storyline?

McMillan conceivably could become the highest NFL Draft selection in UA history; Ricky Hunley went No. 7 overall to the Bengals in 1984. It would have stung — like stumbling into a cactus — to see McMillan’s name on the screen with a “W” next to it instead of an “A.”

Washington wasn’t the only school that wanted McMillan. He could have named his price and gone anywhere in the country. He’s that good.

Fifita’s father, Les, told 247Sports’ Greg Biggins that the Huskies’ former coach, Kalen DeBoer, showed the most interest in the inseparable pair. “They wanted both boys at Alabama,” Les Fifita said.

It’s really hard to say no to that. Yet they did.

Regarding UW and a possible Fisch-Fifita reunion, let me ask you this: Why would Fisch want Fifita as his starting quarterback at Washington when he only reluctantly started him here?

Before going further down this path, I want to make it abundantly clear that this is my theory and mine alone; it isn’t coming from either camp. Les Fifita took the high road on social media Sunday morning, lauding Fisch for not overlooking Fifita in high school, bringing the Servite Four to Arizona and elevating the program. All true.

Also true: Fisch rarely gave Fifita his flowers. He was no Jayden de Laura in Fisch’s eyes. At least not in the public discourse.

After de Laura made a mess of the Mississippi State game with four interceptions, Fisch praised JDL’s “aggressive mentality” and said he “didn’t see any of those throws he made being careless or reckless.” Fisch credited the MSU defense and lamented the bounces of the ball.

Through eight games — after Fifita led a fourth-quarter comeback over Stanford following de Laura’s ankle injury and directed wins over Washington State and Oregon State, who were both ranked at the time — Fisch refused to name Fifita the starting quarterback.

“Noah has started the last four games,” Fisch said at the time. “That’s the only change that’s occurred.”

Fisch went on to say that “Jayden was 3-1 the first four games of the season; Noah is 2-2 in his games” — completely ignoring the fact Arizona was trailing at Stanford when de Laura got hurt. In baseball, the reliever gets credit for that win.

After Fifita settled down following a rough first half and helped Arizona rally past Colorado, Fisch complimented ... de Laura, who served as a calming presence on the sideline.

I don’t want to make this a Fifita vs. de Laura thing; that QB battle is, to paraphrase Dave Heeke, roadkill in the rearview mirror. Besides, multiple members of Fifita’s family have mentioned how Jayden supported Noah after their roles were reversed.

But would it have killed Fisch to lob a little love Fifita’s way?

Finally, after the Territorial Cup, a game in which Fifita threw for a school-record 527 yards, Fisch was asked about Fifita’s impact on the game and his progression throughout the season. The Wildcats had won six straight at that point, all with Fifita as the (unnamed) starter.

“I think it’s a full team,” Fisch said. “I think our whole team has just gotten better every week. I think Noah has done a fantastic job. ... I think we have two great quarterbacks, and if either quarterback was playing (he’d) be leading this team. We’ve managed to be in a situation where Noah got super-hot.”

I’d call that answer super-disrespectful. But again, that’s just me.

What if de Laura hadn’t gotten hurt? Would Fisch be at UW right now?

Forget NIL; Fifita deserves a portion of Fisch’s fat paycheck.

All proceeds go to the construction of Mount Passmore.