Noah Fifita wins Pac-12 Offensive Freshman of the Year
Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita was named the Pac-12 Offensive Freshman of the Year as the conference released its postseason honors Tuesday. Fifita is the first UA player to win the award since running back JJ Taylor in 2017.
Despite not making his first career start until the fifth game of the season against Washington, Fifita still managed to throw for 2,515 yards — which is the 12th-most in a single season in Arizona program history. His completion percentage of 73.6% was also a program record and placed him second in the conference this year only behind Oregon's Bo Nix, who earned the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year award Tuesday.
Fifita was named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Week five times, which set a new conference record. He threw for a record 520 yards in the Wildcats' 59-23 win over Arizona State in this year's Territorial Cup game, leading Arizona to its sixth straight win to end the regular season.
It is the seventh time in program history the Wildcats have won at least nine games and they'll be looking to reach the 10-win mark for the first time since 2014 when they take on Oklahoma in the Alamo Bowl at the end of the month.
Fifita was also named a finalist for the Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year award, which is given to the best freshman in the country. He is one of five finalists for the award with the winner being announced on Dec. 29, the day after Fifita and the Wildcats take on the Sooners in San Antonio, Texas.
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A dozen other Wildcats earn conference honors
Though Fifita was the headliner, 12 other Arizona players earned conference honors with Tuesday's release of the postseason honors. That group was led by All-Pac-12 first team selections offensive lineman Jordan Morgan and linebacker Jacob Manu. Wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan and kicker Tyler Loop earned spots on the second team.
Manu led the Pac-12 with 108 tackles this season while Morgan bounced back from a serious knee injury to reestablish himself as one of the top offensive linemen in the conference.
McMillan was one of only five players to have at least 10 receiving touchdowns in the Pac-12 this season to go with 80 catches (4th) and 1,242 yards receiving (3rd).
Loop, meanwhile, tied for the conference lead in scoring after being responsible for 98 points this season for the Wildcats including 16 made field goals, which was good enough for second in the conference.
Running back Jonah Coleman, tight end Tanner McLachlan, offensive lineman Jonah Savaiinaea, defensive lineman Taylor Upshaw, receiver Jacob Cowing and defensive backs Tacario Davis, Ephesians Prysock and Treydan Stukes all earned honorable mention nods.
UW's Kalen DeBoer beats out Jedd Fisch in coach of the year race
The one glaring snub for the Wildcats Tuesday belonged to the team's head coach. Jedd Fisch was not voted as the Pac-12 Coach of the Year despite guiding a turnaround season in Tucson. Instead, Washington head coach Kalen DeBoer won the award for the second time after sharing it with former Oregon State coach Jonathan Smith last year.
The Huskies are undefeated and have secured a spot in the College Football Playoff.
Senior editor Matt Moreno contributed to this article.
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