TUCSON, Ariz. – Arizona quarterback
Noah Fifita was named to the Davey O'Brien Award Watch List, as announced today by the Davey O'Brien Foundation.
Fifita joins this watch list for the first time in his collegiate career, as he is among 36 quarterbacks nationwide selected to the preseason watch list for the Davey O'Brien Award. This award honors the nation's best quarterback. Fifita is one of two sophomores chosen for the watch list.
The redshirt sophomore quarterback was named to the Davey O'Brien Award Great 8 following three outstanding performances during the 2023 season. The first was after a three-touchdown 275-yard passing performance against Oregon State (10/28); the second was following a 300-yard, 3-touchdown performance against UCLA the following week (11/4); and the final time was after throwing for a single-game record 527 yards with five touchdown passes against Arizona State (11/25).
Compiled by a subset of the Davey O'Brien National Selection Committee, this year's list was selected based on previous Division I career player performance and expectations heading into the 2024 college football season.
Fifita adds another preseason award after being named to the Davey O'Brien Award Watch List, the Walter Camp Player of the Year Watch List, the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team, Athlon Sports Preseason All-American, and Phil Steele Third-Team All-American. The redshirt sophomore quarterback from Huntington Beach, California posted a single-season program-best completion percentage (72.4%) in 2023.
He threw for a single-game record 527 yards against Arizona State to cap the regular season and then led the Wildcats to their 7th win in a row with a victory over No. 12 Oklahoma in the Valero Alamo Bowl while passing for 354 yards marking the second-most in a bowl game in program history.
The preseason list features 22 seniors, 12 juniors, and two sophomores. The list includes eight members from the Atlantic Coast Conference and the Big 12 Conference. Other leagues with multiple honorees include the Southeastern Conference (6), Big Ten (4), American (3), Conference USA (2) and Sun Belt (2).
Eleven of the players were semifinalists for the award in 2023: Carson Beck (Georgia), Brady Cook (Missouri), Jaxson Dart (Ole Miss), Quinn Ewers (Texas), Dillon Gabriel (Oregon), Jordan McCloud (Texas State), Kyle McCord (Syracuse), Jalen Milroe (Alabama), Kaidon Salter (Liberty), Shedeur Sanders (Colorado) and DJ Uiagalelei (Florida State).
The official Davey O'Brien Midseason Watch List will be released on Tuesday, Oct. 22, and will contain active quarterbacks from the Preseason Watch List, players honored as weekly Great 8 recipients through the season's first eight weeks, and any additional quarterbacks approved by the selection subcommittee.
The Midseason Watch List will be cut down to the 35-player Davey O'Brien QB Class of 2024 on Tuesday, Oct. 29. For the fourth straight year, fan voting on social media (Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter) will earn players bonus selection committee votes during the semifinalist, finalist, and winner voting rounds. First-round fan voting will begin on Oct. 29 following the QB Class announcement.
The list of semifinalists selected from the QB Class will be named on Tuesday, Nov. 12. The Foundation will announce the three finalists two weeks later (Tuesday, Nov. 26). The 2024 Davey O'Brien Award winner will be unveiled live on ESPN on Thursday, Dec. 12, during The Home Depot College Football Awards.
The Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award is presented annually to the nation's best college quarterback and is the oldest and most prestigious national quarterback award. The 48th Annual Davey O'Brien Awards Dinner honoring the winner will be held Monday, Feb. 17, 2025, at The Fort Worth Club in Fort Worth, Texas.
Arizona opens the season on Aug. 31 against New Mexico at Arizona Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. MST and the game will be broadcast on ESPN.
