Father of Arizona QB Noah Fifita addresses looming decision after Jedd Fisch departed for Washington

On Sunday afternoon, news broke of Arizona’s Jedd Fisch leaving the Wildcats to take over the Washington Huskies.

In a massive turn of events following Nick Saban’s retirement and Kalen DeBoer taking the Alabama gig, it seems like Arizona was the program most hurt by the development. Now, the focus has been put on the Wildcats roster, and which players will remain in Tucson.

One of their top players in quarterback Noah Fifita. Fisch has unlocked his abilities with the Wildcats, and some have theorized that he could follow the coach to Washington, and lead the Huskies into the Big Ten.

While a decision looms for the quarterback, his father Les Fifita has broken the silence, taking to X to share a statement with the college football world.

“Like everyone else, finding the right words has been hard,” Fifita wrote. “So, if it’s challenging for us, it must be even harder for these 18-23-year-olds. As parents, this is the life aspect for which we do our best to prepare our children. Please pray for these young men as they navigate through all the emotions and prepare to make one of the toughest decisions of their young lives.

“The days of telling them exactly what to do are gone. Now, our parenting roles mostly involve just being there for them—listening, guiding, and, most of all, praying. It’s never been about money; it’s always been about the relationships. I honestly don’t know where we go from here but what I did tell him was to pray and then sleep on it. Same exact thing I told him the night before we committed to UofA.”

Alas, Arizona would love to keep Noah Fifita, but a lot depends on which coach they bring in to replace the departing Fisch, and whether or not it would be in the quarterback’s best interest to remain with the program.

The quarterback was phenomenal under Fisch’s tutelage in 2023. All in all, Fifita amassed 2,869 passing yards and 25 touchdowns for Arizona during their final season in the Pac 12. Those numbers would make him a hot name in the transfer portal, and a player Fisch would love to bring to the Huskies.

A lot has to be figured out for Arizona, a program that was just a bystander as Alabama and Washington shook up their world. We’ll see what happens next for the program as they move to the Big 12.