Arizona will begin its second preseason training camp under coach Brent Brennan on July 30, a month of workouts and practices to get the Wildcats prepared for the 2025 season that opens Aug. 30 against Hawaii
To get you primed for camp, we’re breaking down each position group on the roster. To start things off we focus on the quarterback room.
Players on roster: 5
Projected starter: Noah Fifita (R-Jr.)
Fifita heads into his second full season as Arizona’s starting quarterback and third straight year with a different coordinator. Under the Jedd Fisch/Jimmie Dougherty combo he was Pac-12 Freshman Offensive Player of the Year in 2023 and was a key component to the Wildcats winning 10 games including the Alamo Bowl, but last year he and the duo of Dino Babers and Matt Adkins did not click.
Fifita threw for 2,958 yards and 18 touchdowns in 2024 but also had 12 interceptions, double his tally from the season before, and his completion percentage of 60.5 was considerably below his school-record 72.4 percent as a redshirt freshman.
A full offseason to work with new coordinator Seth Doege and his system, combined with time spent at the Manning Passing Academy, should bode well for Fifita this fall.
Top backups: Braedyn Locke (R-Jr.), Sawyer Anderson (Fr.)
Locker is a transfer from Wisconsin who threw for 2,713 yards and 18 TDs in 16 games with the Badgers, throwing for a career-best 359 yards and 3 TDs last season against Purdue. Anderson is a 3-star signee from Texas whom Arizona flipped from Purdue after Doege was hired.
Newcomer most likely to make instant impact: Anderson
This is one of the few positions where depth is important but you also hope to never need to use it. Locke has the experience to step in if Fifita were to get hurt, but Anderson was recruited specifically for Doege’s system and the Wildcats may want to see what he can do without burning his redshirt.
Coaching outlook
Doege, hired in December from Marshall, brings a spread offense that will run the ball much more than your typical Air Raid attack. The Thundering Herd averaged more than 200 rushing yards per game last season, ranking 18th nationally, and puts emphasis on speed in the open field. Fifita took way too long to get the ball out last year, which won’t work in this system, and fixing that was a major emphasis during spring ball.
Next up: Running backs