The top of the Arizona depth chart is clear at quarterback, with Noah Fifita returning for his third season as a starter and Braedyn Locke added as a transfer to be the primary backup in 2025. Mason Bray and 2025 signees Sawyer Anderson and Luke Haugo will compete to be the third-team QB for Arizona.
Fifita enters his third season as the Arizona starting QB with 27 games played and 21 starts in his career with the Wildcats. Entering his first season with Arizona, Seth Doege is the third offensive coordinator Fifita will play under in as many seasons as the starting QB.
Doege and Fifita have praised each other throughout the offseason. How well Fifita adapts to the Doege offense will have a significant impact on how successful Arizona will be in 2025. Arizona dropped significantly in 2024 after being in the top 20 offensively in all but rushing in 2023.
Locke played in 16 games with eight starts in the past two seasons at QB for Wisconsin. Arizona gains an experienced backup with Locke. Injuries to Wisconsin starting QBs Tanner Mordecai in 2023 and Tyler Van Dyke in 2024 elevated Locke to the starter.
Arizona has no experience at QB behind Fifita and Locke. Bray did not make an appearance for Arizona in 2024 and Anderson and Haugo are entering their first collegiate seasons. With a nine-game conference schedule, Arizona will likely only have one or two opportunities to get snaps for the backup QBs.
Bray was a former walk-on with Arizona and the son of late Wildcats' legend Heath. Anderson and Haugo project to have more upside than Bray. Anderson has a 0.8639 grade from 247Sports and Haugo is 0.8572. Arizona needed to sign Anderson and Haugo in the 2025 class to build depth.
Fifita and Locke will likely receive the majority of the snaps in the season opener against Hawaii as Arizona will see how the offense under Doege plays against a live opponent for the first time. The second game of the season versus Weber State will likely be the only time Anderson, Haugo and/or Bray receive snaps in 2025.