Noah Fifita Among Finalists for Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year
TUCSON, Ariz. - Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita was named a Finalist for the Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Award, as announced today by the Maxwell Football Club.
Quarterback Noah Fifita is the first Arizona quarterback to be named a finalist for this award since its inaugural season in 2018. He finished the season with a Territorial Cup record of 527 yards on 30-of-41 passing for five touchdowns. Fifita tied his career-high with five touchdown passes to give him 23 TDs for the year, marking the seventh-most in program history.
"Congratulations to this year's Shaun Alexander Award Top 5 Finalists. I've enjoyed watching this year's top 5 impact college football as they have put on some of the best collegiate performances, I've seen this season. I'm confident these guys will continue to perform at an elite level for years to come. Good luck to the winner!" – Shaun Alexander
The Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Award finalists are listed below in alphabetical order by school.
| Player Name | School | Position | Class Year |
| Caleb Downs | University of Alabama | Defensive Back | Freshman |
| Noah Fifita | University of Arizona | Quarterback | Redshirt Freshman |
| Rueben Bain | University of Miami | Defensive End | Freshman |
| Kevin Concepcion | NC State | Wide Receiver | Freshman |
| Dillon Thieneman | Purdue University | Defensive Back | Freshman |
The winner of the 6th annual Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year award will be unveiled on December 29, 2023. The formal presentation of this award will be made at the Maxwell Awards on Friday, March 8, 2024, from the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta.
Fifita broke Anu Solomon's passing record of 520 yards in the 59-23 win over Arizona State to finish the regular season. The margin of victory for Arizona was the largest road margin of victory in the Territorial Cup, topping the 35-point victory (35-0) in Tempe in 1953.
Fifita became the 18th player in program history with 2,000+ passing yards in a single season. His 2,515 yards are the 12th-most in a single season by an Arizona QB. Despite starting just eight games this season, Fifita finished with the seventh-most passing yards in the conference.
He earned Pac-12 Freshman of the Week Honors a conference-record five times. Fifita finished the regular season second in the conference with a program-record 73.6 completion percentage, trailing only Bo Nix (Oregon, 78.6%).
The redshirt freshman from Huntington Beach led the Wildcats to a six-game winning streak for the first time since 1998 and nine wins, marking the most wins since going 10-4 in 2014. It is just the seventh time in program history that Arizona has won nine-plus games in a season.
Arizona earned its ninth win of the season to finish 9-3 overall and 7-2 in the Pac-12. The eight-win improvement from 2021 to 2023 is the largest two-year in program history. Arizona earned four wins on the road for the first time since 1998.
The Wildcats await their first bowl selection since 2017 on Sunday, Dec. 3.
Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Recipients:
Drake Maye – QB – North Carolina (2022)
Brock Bowers – TE – Georgia (2021)
Will Anderson – LB – Alabama (2020)
Kenneth Gainwell – RB – Memphis (2019)
Trevor Lawrence – QB – Clemson (2018)
ABOUT THE SHAUN ALEXANDER AWARD
During the 1996 college football season, future All-American Shaun Alexander didn't start off the year as the team's starting running back, in fact, he was the 3rd option. That all changed on the ESPN prime-time night game on November 9th, 1996, when #10 Alabama played #11 LSU. This was the night in Death Valley where Shaun became an Alabama legend. His first carry… a 17-yard touchdown – giving him 1 carry for 17 yards and a touchdown at the end of the 1st half. His second carry… a 73-yard touchdown. Shaun ended the night with 4 touchdowns and 291 rushing yards. Alexander's single-game rushing record (291 yards) still stands today at The University of Alabama. Shaun ended his career at Alabama with 3,565 yards rushing (41 touchdowns), 798 receiving yards (8 TD receptions), and one kickoff return for a touchdown. Due to Shaun's tremendous freshman campaign for the Crimson Tide, The College Football Freshman Player of the Year Award is now called The Shaun Alexander Award. Questions concerning the 2023 Shaun Alexander Award watch list can be directed to MFC Executive Director Mark Wolpert mwolpert@maxwellfootballclub.org or MFC Director of College Awards Rich Cirminiello rcirminiello@maxwellfootballclub.org.
ABOUT THE MAXWELL FOOTBALL CLUB
The Maxwell Football Club was founded in 1935 and is the oldest football organization of its kind in America. The Club recognizes excellence in performance at the high school, collegiate, and professional levels of the game. The Maxwell Club is also deeply involved and fully vested in the community through programs to promote academic excellence, community volunteerism, and leadership. High school student-athletes around the country have an opportunity to participate in MFC Showcase events, free of charge, through the generosity of our corporate partners, Montage Mountain Resort, the Edward T. Coombs Foundation and the Bradley Law Firm. To learn more about our story visit www.maxwellfootballclub.org.