Arizona Has Options Behind Fifita in 2025

The expectations for Arizona football coming into the 2024 season were high. The team started the year ranked No. 21 in the Preseason AP Poll with a good number of returning players and stars Noah Fifita and Tetairoa McMillan leading the way.

But, things didn’t go that way for Arizona and new head coach Brent Brennan as the team struggled on both sides of the ball and couldn’t get any consistent play going throughout the year.

The Wildcats finished 4-8 on the year and ended the season on a two-game losing streak and lost seven of the last eight games.

On the offensive end, Arizona was an up and down unit that didn’t click like a smooth running machine. The Wildcats had issues getting over the 50-yard line after the 61-point against New Mexico to open up the season.

After that, Arizona averaged 18.8 PPG ranking near the bottom of the Big 12 and the bottom nationally as well. 

Fifita struggled to keep up off the ground by getting sacked 28 times while throwing 12 interceptions to his 18 touchdowns while completing 61% of his passes.

Not only did Arizona have issues in the passing game but the Wildcats offensive scheme was inconsistent and at times went away from the running game.

Despite Fifita struggling and in some games getting multiple times, Arizona kept its starter in through the majority of the contest even when things were out of reach.

One of the main reasons why you never saw Fifita get pulled out even for his safety in those games was due to the lack of talent behind him at the quarterback position.

The reality is, Arizona had no one that the team could rely upon to put into games even with a former four-star recruit in Brayden Dorman.

This off season, Arizona added to its quarterback room by landing transfer Braedyn Locke from Wisconsin and signed three-star freshman Sawyer Anderson out of Texas.

While playing for the Badgers, Locke played in 16 games where he threw 18 touchdown passes to 11 interceptions while totaling 2,713 yards and completing 53% of his passes.

Anderson flipped from Purdue to Arizona and had offers from Arkansas, Ole Miss and North Carolina before heading to Tucson.

This season, if Arizona has an injury, or even sees the quarterback position struggle, it has options behind Fifita that can steady the ship unlike last season.