Arizona’s quarterback room enters the 2026 season with a clear headliner and a couple of names worth watching once camp opens Aug. 5.
Noah Fifita is still the center of everything. The redshirt senior took over in 2023 after Jayden de Laura was injured at Stanford in the second half, and he hasn’t given the job back since.
He’s started 34 straight games, and last season he set Arizona’s single-season and career touchdown passing records. He’s also closing in on another milestone: with 829 more yards, he’ll pass Nick Foles for the career passing yardage mark.
That’s the kind of production that keeps Arizona’s offense built around one player. Fifita’s game last season also showed another layer, as he became more willing to tuck it and run. He finished with 404 rushing yards, not counting sacks, added three touchdowns on the ground and converted 31 first downs.
Behind him, Sawyer Anderson is the top backup. The redshirt freshman didn’t play in 2025, spending the year on scout team duty and learning the offense.
With Fifita entering his final season, Anderson should get whatever live reps Arizona can carve out for him, whether that’s to prepare him for the future or in case the Wildcats need him in a pinch. Anderson arrived as a former 3-star prospect, and he brings a big résumé from Texas, where he finished as the Dallas area’s all-time passing leader with more than 14,000 yards and 158 touchdown passes.
The newcomer with the best chance to make noise right away is Oscar Rios. The freshman is a 4-star signee from the 2026 class, and the new 5-for-5 rule means Arizona doesn’t have to worry about protecting his eligibility. If there’s an opportunity to get him on the field, the Wildcats are likely to take it.
There’s also a coaching angle here. Seth Doege’s arrival to run the offense last season played a major role in Arizona’s nine-win year, and the numbers backed it up across the board. The passing game, in particular, sharpened up: Fifita cut his interceptions from 12 in 2024 to six in 2025.
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Arizona's NFL Pipeline Looks Bigger Than Most Fans Realize
Nearly two dozen former Arizona Wildcats are fighting for NFL roster spots in training camps around the country, another reminder that the programs reach extends well beyond Tucson. The group includes recent draftees already settled in with their pro teams, such as Tetairoa McMillan with the Carolina Panthers, along with players whose careers have kept rolling into another summer, including veteran kicker Nick Folk and linebacker Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles.
Riley Wilson is also trying to carve out his place after signing with the New England Patriots as an undrafted free agent, adding another name to a Wildcats pipeline that keeps showing up on NFL depth charts. The next chance to spot some of those familiar faces comes with preseason games beginning soon, including the Hall of Fame Game on Aug. 6 in Canton, and Arizona fans will have an especially close eye on the Cardinals-Panthers matchup because of the alumni involved. [Read more 🡒]