Two of the top returning players at their position nationally — quarterback Noah Fifita and receiver Tetairoa McMillan — announced at McKale Center before Arizona’s game with UCLA that they are returning to the Wildcat football program in 2024.
Unfounded speculation existed that Fifita and McMillan would join Jedd Fisch and all of Arizona’s former offensive coaching staff at Washington after they bolted to Seattle last week.
Fellow Servite High School graduate Jacob Manu, one of Arizona’s top defensive players at linebacker, is also returning.
Fifita and McMillan were featured in a video that was played to the boisterous McKale crowd.
“Loyalty, legacy, family, home,” Fifita and McMillan said in the video.
“Tucson, we’ve got unfinished business,” Fifita said.
“We’re running it back,” McMillan said.
The show goes on. pic.twitter.com/oVwMvCNTx1
— Arizona Football (@ArizonaFBall) January 20, 2024
New Arizona coach Brent Brennan was on the court and hugged Fifita, McMillan, Manu and some of the other players who earlier in the day announced their return via Twitter — safeties Gunner Maldonado, Treydan Stukes and Dalton Johnson.
Brennan’s new wide receivers coach, Wildcat great Bobby Wade, was also in attendance at McKale Center.
News broke Saturday morning that Wade, part of rival Arizona State’s staff since 2019, was joining the Wildcat program. Wade played at Arizona from 1999 to 2003. Brennan was on Dick Tomey’s staff in 2000 as a graduate assistant.
U of A, U of A, U of A https://t.co/jlZWYYT3og pic.twitter.com/WoApSgNB6a
— Arizona Football (@ArizonaFBall) January 20, 2024
Fifita is the reigning Pac-12 Offensvie Freshman of the Year and a Heisman Trophy candidate going into next season, passing for 2.869 yards with 25 touchdowns and six interceptions in nine starts.
His presence at quarterback propelled the Wildcats to a 7-2 record with the two losses narrow defeats to USC and Washington.
McMillan returns as a potential first-round NFL draft pick next year. He caught 90 passes for 1,402 yards and 10 touchdowns, earning second-team Sporting News All-American honors.
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ALLSPORTSTUCSON.com publisher, writer and editor Javier Morales is a former Arizona Press Club award winner. He is a former Arizona Daily Star beat reporter for the Arizona basketball team, including when the Wildcats won the 1996-97 NCAA title. He has also written articles for CollegeAD.com, Bleacher Report, Lindy’s Sports, TucsonCitizen.com, The Arizona Republic, Sporting News and Baseball America, among many other publications. He has also authored the book “The Highest Form of Living”, which is available at Amazon. He became an educator in 2016 and is presently a special education teacher
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