Forget about all those annoying political election TV ads — the candidate to watch in Tucson this fall is Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita.
The “Fifita for Heisman” candidacy is under way.
Arizona is selling it — handing out flyers to media — and ESPN’s commentators were buying it Wednesday morning at the Big 12 Media Days at Frisco, Texas.
“He’s a dude, and you know what? His coach (Brent Brennan) knows it,” ESPN’s Dusty Dvoracek said during the telecast of Fifita after interviewing Brennan. “He’s got a swag to himself because he knows, ‘Hey, I’ve got a guy who can go out there and beat any defense in this league on any given Saturday or Friday.’ It permeates from the head coach through the entire team.
“It is a remarkable story the fact that he has been so loyal to Arizona when Jedd Fisch left to Washington, (and) when Brent Brennan came in. The expectation is that he’s leaving. He didn’t waver. He stayed right there. Even after a bad season, he stayed right there. He’s going to go down as one of the all-time great Arizona football players at any position … especially if he puts together a special season.
“We’ve got a ‘Noah Fifita for Heisman’ flyer here that coach Brennan just handed out. He is the type of player who can put something like that together. As much as we’re talking about Texas Tech and we’re talking about BYU, this is the Big 12. Why not Arizona? … If (Fifita) has a special type of season, you never know what they’re capable of.”
letting them know https://t.co/VsOljikHUa pic.twitter.com/qdjnjyedxb
— Arizona Athletics (@AZATHLETICS) July 8, 2026
Louis Riddick, known for his NFL commentating and draft analysis on ESPN, said he admires Fifita as a “total package.”
“On this Heisman trophy resume right here,” Riddick said while looking at the flyer, “Community service, personal character. These are kind of things like — look, I don’t know how much fans are interested in that, they want to know what my quarterback can do for me on the football field — but this guy is exactly what you want as far as the makeup is concerned.
“And then you throw on the tape, and it’s just poetry in the pocket. The way he can escape, keep his eyes downfield, move around, throw the football from the pocket — he’s not that tall … Noah’s slenderly built but he is a lion as a competitor. He can throw the football all over the yard. Different arm angles, layer the ball into the second level, throw the deep ball, he’s got it all. Coach was well within his right to bring this flyer up here. I would’ve done the same thing. This kid’s the total package.”
Brennan reiterated to the ESPN crew what he has told the Tucson media over the last couple of years concerning his captain at quarterback: “Noah Fifita is the best story in college football.”
“He’s an incredible competitor, tough,” Brennan added. “On Saturday, he is trying to kick your ass and steal your heart, but then off the field, he’s incredible with the community. He has a foundation. He does a ton of charity work. He’s a young man of faith. He’s just a really special guy in every sense of the word.
“I think the cool thing about Noah Fifita is that when you look at his body of work, it all comes from him being competitive. He’s an incredibly hard worker. But it’s really about everybody else, like he just is always giving to the team, to the community, to his teammates, to the coaching staff. He keeps choosing University of Arizona when the outside world tries to talk him out of it. He keeps choosing his teammates at the University of Arizona. He keeps choosing the city of Tucson. He keeps choosing our coaching staff. I think that’s rare in college football right now, and that’s one of the reasons that I say he’s the best story in college football, because he continues to make the unpopular, unsexy decision of loyalty and commitment, and brotherhood. It’s special; it’s incredibly special.”
Trey Spivey and Chris Hunter talk about QB Noah Fifita.@ArizonaFBall pic.twitter.com/wdb1tfsPTX
— Michelle Gardner (@MGardnerSports) July 8, 2026
One of the main reasons why Fifita stayed at Arizona after the 2024 season, one in which he struggled through a 4-8 season in Brennan’s first year, was the hiring of offensive coordinator Seth Doege.
They hit it off from the start and the relationship has the opportunity to continue to build with Fifita back for his fifth year and Doege remaining as the offensive coordinator. He had Brennan Carroll and Dino Babers as his offensive coordinator in his first three years and now has continuity with Doege with him being the centerpiece of the offense.
“Coach Doege has been an incredible addition to our football staff,” Brennan told the group of reporters at Big 12 Media Days. “I believe we’re very fortunate to have him at the University of Arizona. It was interesting when I brought coach Doege in to talk about the job, I felt like we had an instant connection.
“I felt like we saw the world similarly and we’re both passionate about the development of young people. The football’s the football but there’s this whole other piece that we’re responsible for as coaches. Seth and I got off to a great start.”
Brennan credited Doege as being significant to Fifita’s development.
“I’ve just seen that relationship grow,” Brennan said. “Noah’s special in his preparation and his process. He attacks that. Coach Doege’s the perfect guy for him having played the position at a high level. Coach Doege is a very assertive leader. That’s helped Noah grow in that leadership department.
“We’re fortunate going into the second year with coach Doege and the second year for Noah having the same coordinator. It’s critical because this is the first time he’s had that in his football career. My expectations for both Noah and Seth Doege could not be any higher.”
THE face of Arizona football. Confident. Determined. Motivated. Fearless. Prepared. Noah Fifita. pic.twitter.com/eDySUb6kgE
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) July 8, 2026
Fifita was named to the 2026 Preseason All-Big 12 Team. He is the first quarterback in Arizona program history to ever receive a preseason first-team all-conference selection.
Earlier this summer, Fifita excelled at the prestigious Manning Passing Academy, winning two individual skills exhibitions — “Air-It-Out” and “Hoop Long Shot” — against top-tier national competition.
He has broken multiple historical passing benchmarks. He currently stands as the FBS active career passing touchdowns leader with 73. He is also just 829 yards shy of breaking Nick Foles’ all-time school record for career passing yards. He is at 9,183. Foles passed for 10,011 from 2009 to 2011.
With Fifita being so valuable to Arizona’s potential success this season, how much does Doege allow his quarterback to run and risk injury?
Brennan answered Riddick’s comment that Fifita “is not the biggest guy,” by saying, “He might be the toughest. I guess with that part of it, running him is not a fear of ours.”
Fifita had career-high numbers in rushing attempts (114) and yards (216) operating Doege’s offense last year.
Recommended for you
