With the Wildcats in the midst of fall camp, the preseason awards continue to roll in for one Arizona player in particular. Quarterback Noah Fifita has been named to the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award Preseason Watchlist ahead of his third season under center.
The Golden Arm Award encapsulates all that is positive in college sports and recognizes the top upperclassmen quarterback annually. The award acknowledges performance on the field for sure, as well as character, citizenship, integrity and those who honor the game. Fifita is one of 58 quarterbacks from across the country on the watchlist. He is also one of 10 Big 12 signal callers on the watchlist.
Fifita finds himself on the Golden Arm Award preseason watchlist for the second time in as many seasons. Since the award’s inception in 1987, no Wildcat has taken home the honor. The Big 12 has had success in recent years, with three of the last eight winners playing in the conference (2017: Mason Rudolph, Oklahoma State, 2022: Max Duggan, TCU, 2024: Shedeur Sanders, Colorado).
Noah Fifita enters his fourth season in Tucson and second as the full-time starter under center. Over the past two seasons, he has completed 501 of his 763 pass attempts, or 65.7 percent of his throws. Fifita has also found the end zone 43 times through the air, and once more on the ground in 2024. Fifita, who has looked dynamic through fall camp in new offensive coordinator Seth Doege’s dynamic, air-raid inspired offense, is also on the Maxwell Award Preseason Watch List.