Noah Fifita’s father silences rumors that Kalen DeBoer, Alabama tampered with his son
Noah Fifita could have been one of the more significant quarterbacks to hit the portal had he elected to do so after Jedd Fisch left Arizona. Instead, though, he remained committed to the Wildcats in Tucson for his redshirt sophomore season.
However, over the past few days, rumors have circulated that some, specifically Alabama’s Kalen DeBoer, have come looking for Fifita and, in response, his father has set the record straight. In a tweet on Sunday night, Les Fifita made it clear that no one from their family has been in contact with anyone involving the Crimson Tide.
“Absolutely fake…blatant lies…just the world we live in I guess,” wrote Fifita. “Never have I spoken to Coach DeBoer or anybody from his camp. Crazy these dudes hound you to talk and then spit out **** for likes and views. Just literally had this talk with my HS kids about doing things for the right reasons and not just likes.”
“Damn, maybe it’s not the kids…. Maybe it’s the adults,” Fifita continued. “Bet you next thing will be these dudes jumping in my DMs.”
Again, reports, ones that Fifita’s father has since shot down, suggested that DeBoer had been tampering with the Wildcat quarterback in order to bring him to Tuscaloosa.
However, back in the midst of his decision-making process last month, Fifita’s father did appear to at least name-check Alabama in a quote to The Athletic.
“We had three, for sure,” Fifta said in the piece. “Alabama is the only one we were really interested in outside of Arizona and staying and obviously Washington.”
After appearing in three games as a true freshman, Fifita made a dozen appearances with nine starts this past fall. He went 241-333 (72.4%) for 2,869 yards, 25 touchdowns, and just six interceptions in those outings.
The Wildcats’ switch to him from Jayden de Laura at quarterback was a large part of their team’s hot streak. Arizona went 7-2 to close the year with him as their starter. That run included a seven-game win streak to finish the campaign. It also featured a victory over Oklahoma in the Alama Bowl to put them at 10-3.
However, after Fisch decided to leave for Seattle, Fifita could’ve certainly elected to consider his options elsewhere. Still, even with an extended portal window, he never entered his name in and chose to return to Arizona. That choice could have a major impact for the Wildcats in the Big 12 come next fall.
Tampering is a topic that’ll come up from time to time. That’s especially the case with the best players who could be swayed to play somewhere else. Even so, Fifita wants to make it crystal clear that nothing of the sort has taken place between them and ‘Bama, regardless of what rumors may be swirling about.