Catching up with Tetairoa McMillan as ex-Cat sets off on new route | Michael Lev

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — It’s a random, rainy Thursday afternoon in the Queen City, yet Bank of America Stadium is abuzz.

Charlotte FC, the MLS club, doesn’t have a match tonight. The Charlotte Knights, the triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox that plays down the street, doesn’t have a game.

Tetairoa McMillan couldn’t be this popular already, could he?

As there are plenty of No. 4 Carolina Panthers jerseys available in the team store, that’s probably not it. I ask a store employee, an exceptionally friendly man named Bob, what all the hubbub is about.

The Savannah Bananas are playing at Bank of America Stadium each of the next two nights, he reveals. That explains it.

After leaving the store, I discover bright yellow merchandise tents around the corner. The Bananas will draw approximately 148,000 fans for their two games against the Party Animals.

Will the Panthers start selling out “The Bank” again? Will Arizona’s McMillan help restore the roar for a franchise that hasn’t had a winning season or made the playoffs since 2017?

En route to Chapel Hill for Arizona baseball’s Super Regional against North Carolina, I swung through Charlotte to interview McMillan, who was in the midst of offseason workouts and meetings. The weight of the franchise does not sit on T-Mac’s shoulders. If anyone feels that responsibility, it’s quarterback Bryce Young, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 draft.

But Carolina chose McMillan with the No. 8 pick in this year’s draft to help Young become the best version of himself — and, in turn, push the Panthers back into the postseason.

After playing with the same quarterback, Noah Fifita, for most of the previous eight years, McMillan is in the process of building a relationship with his new QB. That’s what this time in McMillan’s life is all about. It’s a period of transition. Long-term relationships are becoming long-distance ones. New partnerships are being forged.

‘Little things’

Although Young pushed for the selection of McMillan — his fellow Southern Californian and Trinity League alum — the two didn’t know each other aside from a pre-draft workout at a training facility.

That critical, chemistry-building process is well underway.

“It really just starts with the little things,” McMillan said, “getting to know him in the cafeteria, walking by in the hallway, stuff like that — as well as on the field, just getting a feel for his timing, what routes he likes, what he doesn’t like ... where his ball is going to be placed.

“Little things go a long way.”

McMillan is learning his new quarterback’s tendencies while getting an introduction to the ways of the NFL. He’s in a good spot. McMillan has multiple mentors in 12th-year veteran Adam Thielen and first-year receivers coach Rob Moore, who caught 628 passes over 10 seasons with the Jets and Cardinals.

Regarding their instruction and feedback, McMillan said multiple times during our 15-minute chat: “I’m all ears.” He seemed humble and eager to soak up whatever information is thrown his way — “That’s only gonna make me a better player and a better person,” he said — further contradicting the negative narratives that surfaced about him during the run-up to the draft.

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McMillan said Moore has emphasized physicality. Much like those draftniks who, unlike the Panthers, didn’t care for McMillan’s game, opposing defensive backs are going to try to beat him up.

“I’m definitely gonna have to adjust to that,” McMillan said.

He has a lot to get used to. McMillan has never lived on the East Coast before; he was born in Hawaii before moving to California in middle school. He’s still on the lookout for go-to restaurants while trying to develop into a go-to receiver.

Asked about his favorite memories at the UA, McMillan first cited an obvious one: Defeating Oklahoma in the Alamo Bowl. Then he mentioned weekly Sunday-night dinners at Mr. An’s. He and fellow receiver Montana Lemonious-Craig organized group outings “every Sunday for two seasons straight,” McMillan said. His go-to order?

“Oh, that’s easy, man,” McMillan said. “I got the New York steak dinner with double fried rice. Come on now.”

McMillan also spoke fondly of UA head coach Brent Brennan and receivers coach Bobby Wade, who worked with T-Mac for one season that went well for him but not for the Wildcats. McMillan described Brennan as “super genuine, a good guy and someone I can lean on.” Wade, whose receiving-yards record McMillan broke, achieved something that isn’t easy to do: He secured a spot in T-Mac’s circle of trust.

“Coach Bobby, that’s one of my guys now,” McMillan said. “Being able to build that relationship with him ... he had experience, a lot of wisdom, a lot of knowledge for me, to pass down to me. I talk to him pretty much every week. It was a blessing for sure.”

‘Special moments’

Some bonds endure. Some are unbreakable.

McMillan and Fifita have been best friends for nearly a decade. Their paths have now diverged. While McMillan will be playing his rookie season in 2025, Fifita will be a redshirt junior at Arizona with another year of eligibility after that.

“At the end of the day, it’s a business,” McMillan said. “God doesn’t make a mistake. His plan was already written, us being separated after eight years. But I know in my mind that I (will) be seeing him in the league in a couple of years. That’s always gonna be my boy.”

With OTAs over and training camp still 3½ weeks away, McMillan made his way back to campus for the official visit of UA commit Dash Fifita, Noah’s younger brother. As Noah and Dash’s mother, Winnona, wrote on social media: “Big bros would never miss their lil bro’s special moments.”

McMillan made cameos at multiple UA spring practices. There’s no doubt he’d come back for a game if he could, but Carolina’s regular-season schedule doesn’t sync well with Arizona’s. The Wildcats would have to make the Dec. 6 Big 12 Championship Game for McMillan to be free and clear.

He might be able to make it to Senior Day, Nov. 22, which could be Fifita’s home finale. The Panthers play at San Francisco that Monday night. If Fifita elects to walk, T-Mac will find a way to be there for that special moment.

November is a long way off, though. McMillan’s first NFL training camp hasn’t even started. He has a lot to prove, and he knows it.

Back at the Panthers team store, I ask Bob if McMillan’s jersey is a hot-selling item. He said it isn’t — well, not yet anyway.

Consider that another relationship to be built.