Arizona’s QB situation tiers above ASU in ESPN ranking
A big reason for Arizona's high standing in the ranking is quarterback Noah Fifita returning for his fifth season with the program.
Watch: State of the Sun Devils: Previewing Arizona State's offense ahead of the college football season | 22 mins
The Arizona Wildcats’ quarterback situation, anchored by Noah Fifita, landed in the fourth tier of ESPN analyst David Hale’s ranking of every FBS program published Tuesday.
Labeled the “better than you thought” tier, Arizona was among five schools named in the section.
Tier 4 isn’t chock full of the biggest names, but five of these quarterbacks are among the best in the country.
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One last blind comparison:
QB A: 6-3 record, 76.5 Total QBR, 65.5%, 7.4 yards per attempt, 21 TDs, four INTs
QB B: 6-3 record, 73.4 Total QBR, 65.2%, 7.5 yards per attempt, 21 TDs, four INTsQB A is Tier 1’s (Darian Mensah) after Oct. 1 of last year. QB B is the same interval for Fifita.
Fifita is coming off his best year at Arizona with 3,228 yards and 29 touchdowns to six interceptions on 64.3% passing.
He was a big reason why the Wildcats made a jump in 2025. He enters his fifth year at the program and third under head coach Brent Brennan as a name to watch nationally.
Fifita was also listed as a quarterback prospect to watch with eyes toward the 2027 NFL Draft by ESPN’s Jordan Reid.
Where are Arizona State and its quarterbacks ranked?
Arizona State’s current quarterback situation headlined by Cutter Boley and Mikey Keene didn’t get nearly as much love as Arizona’s.
Nor did it come anywhere close to Tier 2 like former Sun Devils quarterback Sam Leavitt, who transferred from the program this offseason, and LSU did. More on that situation later.
Landing in Tier 13, labeled “coordinators make them interesting,” the Sun Devils’ spot in the ranking has more to do with head coach Kenny Dillingham and his successes with quarterbacks in the past.
Jordan Travis was a Louisville castoff on the verge of switching from quarterback to wide receiver when Kenny Dillingham worked with him at Florida State. Travis ended up a Heisman finalist.
Auburn fans largely wished good riddance when Nix departed for Oregon, but Dillingham helped turn him into a first-round draft pick.
Leavitt couldn’t get on the field at Michigan State, but once he landed at Arizona State with Dillingham, he blossomed into a star.
So, can Dillingham make magic again with Boley? Sometimes, success is just about the right coach and scheme.
Boley came over to the Sun Devils through the transfer portal after two years at Kentucky. The 6-foot-5, 213-pounder is the likely starter in 2026.
Where’s former Sun Devils QB Sam Leavitt ranked?
You don’t have to look hard to find Leavitt on Hale’s ranking.
The former Sun Devil and LSU found themselves in Tier 2, also known as the “are you not entertained?” tier.
For the QBs in Tier 1, 2025 was a first step toward a vast future. They were excellent and bigger things are ahead.
For the QBs in Tier 2, we’ve got a pretty good idea of who they are. They’re very good — and have been for a while. How much better can they be in 2026
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Comments
2 Comments
Fifa being All-World is just an opinion from ESPN reporters who collectively have a pretty horrific track record for making accurate predictors.
Fact is, that none of the guys who contributed to the ESPN article, or Tyler Drake for that matter, actually attended Spring Practice at ASU, where the energy was unlike anything I've ever witnessed. This year I expect Dilly's offense will be more explosive than it has ever been, especially the passing game where ASU receivers now go 5 deep. I'm hopeful that Cameron Dyer will move from QB to the TE room as his potential could make the offense even more explosive. He has the skill set to play on Sundays.
At that practice, Cutter Boley looked bigger, faster, more decisive and had a bigger arm than on any of his highlight films from Kentucky. He was consistently finding WR transfers Omarion Miller and Reed Harris, excelling at getting them the ball early. While Mikey Keene did nothing to impress, Freshman QB Jake Fette looked special, like a young Jake Plummer, only more athletic with a bigger arm whose decision making was decisive, making him look more like a 6th YR SR than a RS-FR.
Someone PLEASE have an "intervention" for DC (see below)! Dude hits an article on Noah, and turns it into a slobberfest on Devils' spring practice!?! WT!?! Cats live rent free in his head, and his yellow and rust scream off the pages . . . Get help, bro.