LAS VEGAS — Arizona star wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan could potentially have limitations at the start of preseason training camp, due to a leg injury he suffered during a spring practice in April.
But UA coach Brent Brennan said Wednesday he still believes the junior will be “a version of full-go” for training camp, which starts on July 30.
McMillan suffered a leg injury in a one-on-one drill against cornerback Tacario Davis, limped off the field, underwent “a little procedure” and missed the final week of Arizona’s spring practices as well as the spring game.
“Just me running routes. It was non-contact and something I can’t control,” McMillan said at Big 12 Media Day at Allegiant Stadium on Wednesday.
Arizona wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan practices his one-hand catches as the Wildcats warm up before taking on Oklahoma in the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio on Dec. 28, 2023.
McMillan wore a walking boot and used a scooter to maneuver around at the end of spring practices, but has participated in offseason workouts and player-led practices.
Brennan, donning a lei around his neck Wednesday at Day 2 of the Big 12’s football Media Days event — the lei a gift from McMillan’s mother, Shawny — recently told the Star McMillan is “moving along and progressing great." On Wednesday he said “we don’t know enough yet if it’s going to be full-throttle or not.”
Added Brennan: “We’re going to be really smart about that one,” and not rush McMillan back.
“Make sure he’s ready to go when it’s time,” he said.
The legends of Arizona football standouts Tetairoa McMillan, right, and Noah Fifita, left, only grew when they announced their return to Tucson and the Wildcats upon appearing on the court at McKale Center on Jan. 20.
McMillan is “not too sure” about potential restrictions at the start of training camp, but said his leg is “fine.”
“I don’t know what plan they have, what the athletic trainers have planned for me during fall camp and whatnot, but I feel pretty good and I can definitely move around well,” McMillan said. “I’m ready to put some cleats back on.”
McMillan enters his junior season as one of the top pass-catchers in college football. The 6-5, 210-pound McMillan, Arizona’s highest-rated recruit in the modern recruiting era, is a preseason All-Big 12 selection, along with a preseason All-American by multiple publications.
McMillan finished his second season at Arizona with the second-most receiving yards (1,402) in a season by a UA receiver behind Dennis Northcutt (1,422), along with 10 touchdowns; he currently ranks eighth in program history with 18 career touchdowns. McMillan was a second-team All-Pac-12 selection and received third-team Associated Press All-American honors, the first Wildcat to accomplish that feat since running back J.J. Taylor in 2018.
McMillan is 1,428 yards shy of passing UA great Bobby Wade, Arizona’s current wide receivers coach, for the most career receiving yards in program history.
“That’s obviously the goal,” McMillan said of potentially setting Arizona’s all-time receiving yards record. “Coach Bobby does a good job of encouraging me to do that. At the end of the day, all records are meant to be broken.”
Wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan and Arizona will face a tough first half of the schedule in 2024, with trips to Kansas State, Utah and BYU.
McMillan said Wade “is probably going to be a little salty, but I know at the end of the day that he’ll be happy for me.”
In the spring, Wade said McMillan setting the record is “one of the biggest parts of this mission for me and he knows that.”
McMillan is “is one of those rare people that is actually fiercely competitive, but is having fun during the competition,” akin to NBA superstar Stephen Curry, said Brennan.
“He looks like he’s having so much more fun than everybody else,” Brennan said. “Then as a talent or as a receiver ... T-Mac’s body control, his ability to finish 50-50 balls — I think so many games in college or the NFL come down to a 50-50 throw on a short-yardage play where you can’t run it because they have too many people in the box, and his ability to finish those catches, and Noah’s ability to throw them, makes T-Mac extremely rare.”
Receiver Tetairoa McMillan snares a throw while running routes against the Wildcats secondary at Arizona Stadium during a spring practice session on April 2.
McMillan’s longtime best friend and teammate, Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita, said on Wednesday that McMillan, a likely first-round selection in next year’s NFL Draft, “is going to show this year that he’s the best player in the country.”
“The tape speaks for itself,” Fifita said. “When you really break it down and see the ball skills, body control and hands, those are things you can’t really teach. Beyond that, just the character. You don’t see a lot of guys his caliber as humble as him. He’s a program-changer, he’s a culture-changer, and that’s why you’ll see him go in the Top 5 (of the NFL Draft this year).”
Already one of the most productive wide receivers McMillan has set lofty expectations for himself for the upcoming season.
“I want to exceed what I did this past year,” McMillan said. “To me, my (sophomore) season wasn’t as good as it seemed. I wasn’t really satisfied with my performances last year. I can do a lot better, so I’m looking forward to that.”
Arizona wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan drags Oklahoma defensive back Reggie Pearson for an extra yard or two after his one of his 10 catches during the 2023 Alamo Bowl in San Antonio.
His expectations are even higher for the Wildcats in Year 1 under Brennan, after Arizona finished last season with a 10-3 record and an Alamo Bowl win over former Big 12 member Oklahoma. The Wildcats were the fourth team in program history to have 10 wins in a season — the fewest losses since the 12-1 season in 1998; the seven-game winning streak to end the season is also the UA’s best since ‘98. Arizona finished No. 11 in the Associated Press Top 25, the highest ranking to end a season since ‘98.
With a majority of its starters and nucleus back for another season, including McMillan, “sky is the limit for this Arizona football team” entering a new conference, said Arizona’s star receiver.
“I think we can do some great things,” said McMillan. “Being in the Big 12 championship is ahead of us, and the national championship is not far.”
Extra points
Arizona athletic director Desireé Reed-Francois told the Star new season-ticket sales have increased by 40% since last season’s 10-3 finish that culminated with a win over Oklahoma in the Valero Alamo Bowl.
Brennan, on the transition as Arizona’s head coach: “It’s been great. It’s been fast and furious, but it’s been wonderful to be at a place that I’ve thought highly of and that I love and appreciate in the University of Arizona and Tucson, Arizona. We’re just trying to build a football team and keep moving forward every day, and it’s been buying a house and getting acclimated and all that stuff. We’re not quite done yet, but we’re kind of getting focused on football now, so that’s more important.”
Brennan, a former UA graduate assistant in 2000, said “it’s very special for me to be back” at Arizona. Said Brennan: I will say it’s an incredible responsibility because of how much I know everyone cares about Arizona football.”
