Jedd Fisch has said the same thing for several weeks now: There is no quarterback controversy in Tucson. If Jayden de Laura is healthy, he’s the Wildcats’ starter.

“I don’t know who’s going to start this week because I don’t know how healthy Jayden is. We’ll see,” Fisch said Monday at his weekly news conference. “He’s healthier than he was last week.”

If he’s 100% healthy, Fisch said de Laura will be the starter against Washington State.

If he’s not, Noah Fifita will draw his third start. Fisch was asked what his message would be to the fans who want to see Fifita continue to play regardless of de Laura’s health, and he said they’ve never made decisions based on what outside voices wanted.

“We decide what we think is best for the program from everything that we know and do and see, and we don’t just listen to others in that decision,” Fisch said. “When it comes down to deciding who the starting quarterback is, when we played USC last year and lost 45-37 and Jayden threw three touchdown passes, ran for another, and had 387 yards passing, everybody was clamoring that he should have been the Player of the Week.

“Everybody has short-term memories. Everybody likes to live in the now, live in the present. Noah has done a fantastic job. Having two quarterbacks is better than none. I think we’re in a very good place at the quarterback position as we move forward.”

Fisch said he’s been in lots of positions throughout the course of his coaching career where a starter has gone out of the lineup, a backup has looked strong in relief, and the starter has looked even better once they returned.

“I look forward to both of those guys getting better every week and we’ll figure out as we go how that process works,” Fisch said.

Fifita led Arizona to a near-upset of No. 10 USC on the road this past Saturday. In a 43-41 triple-overtime loss, Fifita completed 25 of his 35 passes for 302 yards and five touchdowns against one interception. He was named Pac-12 Freshman of the Week on Monday for that performance.

“Rightfully so,” Fisch said. “Went to triple-overtime in his second-ever start. I can think of maybe 4-5 plays he’d want back out of the 35 pass attempts and the one scramble.”

So far this year, Fifita has a better completion rate by three percentage points (73 to 70%). He has a better QBR by almost 30 points (76 to 48.1). And he has a lower interception rate (2.4 to 4%). On the flip side, de Laura has the experience, he’s picking up more yards per pass (8.6 to 7.4), and has 12 touchdowns to Fifita’s eight.

If he’s healthy, de Laura faces a crucial week.

After two performances that seemingly won over parts of the fanbase, if de Laura goes out against his former team and plays the way he did a year ago, the calls to make a quarterback change will grow louder. In a 31-20 loss to Wazzu last season, de Laura threw four interceptions.

This will be his first trip back to Pullman since leaving.

“My message to Jayden is always the same, that when you play with poise and when you play with confidence, you’re one of the best quarterbacks in the country,” Fisch said. “He’s come here, has won eight games, 8-8 as a starter here, and when he plays like he does in the eight that he started and we won, he was very poised and he didn’t let the emotions get in the way of the game.

“… If he plays like that, I have no doubt we can compete with anybody in the country. If the emotions get the best of him, or any player, they’re never going to be at their best. We have to ignore the noise. We have to be able to play smart, good football, not turn the ball over, protect the team, and make great decisions.”