Tetairoa McMillan will don the blue and cardinal of Arizona against No. 12 Oregon on Saturday.
He easily could have been on the other sideline wearing the Ducks’ green and yellow.
The Wildcats’ star freshman receiver was committed to Oregon for fourth months last year before signing with Arizona in the final hours of the early signing period in December.
McMillan reflected on that precarious period of time Tuesday.
“I wasn’t really sure where I was gonna go,” he said.
The four-star prospect — five stars, according to Rivals.com — had built relationships with Oregon coach Mario Cristobal and his staff. But on Dec. 6, Cristobal left for Miami.
Meanwhile, three of McMillan’s teammates from Servite High School in Anaheim, California — quarterback Noah Fifita, tight end Keyan Burnett and linebacker Jacob Manu — were set to sign with Arizona on Dec. 15.
“I was kind of in a bind,” McMillan said. Where should I go?”
On Dec. 12, Oregon announced the hiring of Dan Lanning. Lanning had less than a week to persuade McMillan to stick with the Ducks; the early signing period ended Dec. 17.
McMillan eventually decided to follow his gut and his friends. He called UA coach Jedd Fisch about 8:30 p.m. on Dec. 17 to give him the news.
“It was really more of a trusting and a relationship thing,” McMillan said. “Just the bonds that I’ve built with Coach Fisch and KC (receivers coach Kevin Cummings) and the friends that I had coming here. All those guys I already knew and trusted. It just made the process that much easier. As far as I’m concerned, I’m still happy with my decision.”
McMillan said that week wasn’t as stressful as you might think because “my family and my friends had my back.” They would support whatever decision he made.
Of course, three specific people — Fifita, Burnett and Manu — were a bit biased.
“Obviously, all of them wanted me to go to Arizona,” McMillan said. “They were all here.”
Lanning made a last-minute push. But McMillan was planning to sign during the early period so he could enroll in January, so time was working against the freshly minted Oregon coach.
“He only talked to me for about a week,” McMillan said. “He was kind of bummed out when I called him saying I wasn’t going there.”
The UA coaches were elated. But they weren’t surprised.
“We just stayed vigilant,” offensive coordinator Brennan Carroll said. “Our messaging never changed with him.
Arizona wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan catches a 24-yard touchdown over Cal cornerback Isaiah Young during their Sept. 24 game in Berkeley.
“We stayed the same throughout, and I think that’s why, ultimately, it turned out the way it did. Because we were the same guys. We had the same messaging and the same pitch, and it seems to be working out and coming true like we thought it would.
“That being said, the kid’s still got a lot of growth to do. He’s playing great, but this isn’t the top end.”
McMillan was named Pac-12 Freshman of the Week after notching a career-high five receptions for 90 yards against Colorado. He scored his third touchdown of the season and even completed an 11-yard pass to quarterback Jayden de Laura.
McMillan ranks fourth on the team with 16 receptions, third with 290 yards and first with an 18.1-yard average per catch.
‘Every single day’
Oregon leads the Pac-12 in rushing, averaging 228.8 yards per game and 6.0 yards per carry. The Ducks rushed for a season-high 351 yards last week against Stanford – almost the same total Cal accumulated against Arizona the previous Saturday (354).
The Wildcats did a better job against a lesser opponent last week, limiting Colorado to 154 yards. Defensive coordinator Johnny Nansen and his staff are continuing to emphasize gap integrity, eye discipline and other fundamentals during practice.
“The focus, again, is run fits every single day,” Nansen said. “You take it for granted sometimes that they know. But they gotta continue to learn and understanding where their fits (are) and where their help’s coming from.”
Nansen described the Ducks’ ball-carriers as a “special group.” Transfers Bucky Irving and Noah Whittington have combined for 642 rushing yards. Quarterback Bo Nix, another transfer, rushed for a career-high 141 yards and two touchdowns vs. Stanford.
“They got good running backs that run downhill,” Nansen said. “They understand how the system works. They just continue to run the same plays. And they’re good at it. So we got our work cut out.”
One play, many errors
One play that didn’t go Arizona’s way vs. Colorado was a fourth-and-goal run from the 1-yard line in the second quarter. Michael Wiley was stopped for no gain.
It appeared that the offensive line was at fault for not opening a hole for the UA tailback. Carroll said the issues went beyond the line.
“Unfortunately, it was a team effort right there,” Carroll said. “We didn’t all get the job done. Could have got more push at the line, at the tight end spot. The back, it looked like he was trying to find the hole as opposed to just make a hole. And then the quarterback needs to carry out his fake. We had a lot of errors on that one play right there.
“It was really disappointing that we didn’t get that in. We need to. It’s something we’d like to pride ourselves on.”
Extra points
Lanning was the defensive coordinator for national champion Georgia before becoming Oregon’s coach. “He’s used to having some pretty good players over there at Georgia, and he’s got good players here at Oregon,” Carroll said. “He’s found ways to utilize guys and put them in position to make plays. So I expect nothing less than that this weekend. Really talented group over there. It’s a great test for us.”
Lanning on de Laura, who passed for a career-high 484 yards and six touchdowns last week: “He throws lasers. He throws the ball on rhythm, on a dart, and he doesn’t need a big window to be able to attack. He’s able to extend plays with his feet. So this is a really good challenge for us. There hasn’t been a lot of teams that have really slowed them down offensively. They only maybe hurt themselves a couple of times, to be honest.”
Nansen on Arizona’s upcoming schedule, which includes five games in a row against teams currently ranked in the AP Top 25: “We’re embracing it. You gotta be excited for this game and the other games moving forward. These are big-time names, and you got to be ready to play. This is why you came here.”
