The Strengths in the Arizona QB Room

When Brent Brennan was looking to turn things around on his coaching staff he hired offensive coordinator Seth Doege to fix the offense and get things back on track after an underwhelming season that saw the year end for the Wildcats with a 4-8 record and an offense that struggled after the 61-point explosion against New Mexico.

The offense struggled with injuries, lack of talent in the wide receiver room (outside of Tetairoa McMillan) and playcalling from former offensive coordinator Dino Babers.

Although he has been an amazing leader and face of the program, quarterback Noah Fifita wasn’t as vocal as Brennan and the rest of the staff would’ve liked him to be.

Brennan pointed to times where the team could’ve used a voice on the field to help recollect the team after a tough sequence, or loss that seemed to spiral out of control down the stretch of the season.

Both Brennan and Doege set the tone in spring practice by challenging Fifita to become that leader on the field by becoming an extension of the coaches on the field.

Throughout camp, Fifita took the challenge head on and became more of that leader the coaches were looking for on the field.

When talking to the media, Doege stated that there were times the offense wasn’t clicking and he went to go talk to the first-team unit but when he got close to the huddle, Fifita told him that he had things under control and would get everything in order.

After that, the offense would have its best drive of the day and started to click the rest of camp. This is exactly what the coaches have been looking for from Fifita as a leader in the huddle.

While watching training camp, you can see Fifita being more confident in that leadership role and helping his teammates on the details of the offense.

He has always been a leader off the field but is clearly growing into the leadership role that all starting quarterbacks need in order to get to the next level.

Now that Fifita has taken his game to the next level and is entering his fourth season with the program. We broke down his top three traits that make him one of the better quarterbacks in the Big 12.

Top Strengths of Arizona’s Top Three QBs

Noah Fifita’s Top Strength (Football IQ)

From the time that we first saw Fifita on the field in spring practice during his true-freshman season, it was clear that he was a highly intelligent quarterback that didn’t let things get too big on him.

In that first practice, Fifita wasn’t scared to make the smart play by either throwing to his check-down option, or even simply throwing the ball away. He never put the ball in danger and made all the right reads.

Now, he did struggle last season throwing 12 interceptions and making some poor reads throughout the year. However, he was under duress getting sacked 28 times causing him to put the ball in harm's way.

Still, Fifita’s football IQ is a major strength of his game and gives him an edge against other quarterbacks in the Big 12.

Braedyn Locke’s Top Strength (Arm Strength)

One of the top arms in the quarterback room for Arizona is Locke, who comes from Wisconsin where he was able to put up some numbers with the Badgers. He has a massive cannon on his shoulders that allows him to hit every part of the field.

It is not only the distance for Locke that gives him perhaps the strongest arm on the roster but the force behind his throws that allow him to put the ball in his target’s hands in tight windows. He has a Jay Cutler element to his game as a gun slinging QB style of play.

Sawyer Anderson’s Top Strength (Athleticism)

In one of the press conferences during training camp, Fifita was asked about the younger talent in the QB room and he stated that Anderson was the most athletic player in the room and has the potential of being a high-level player.

Throughout camp, we have seen Anderson extend plays with his legs and make the right decisions by stepping up into the pocket, or rolling out to find the open man. Plus, he has been able to hit the defense with some quick 8 to 10-yard gains.

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