LAS VEGAS โ 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 โa version of full-goโ 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 โa little procedureโ and missed the final week of Arizonaโs spring practices as well as the spring game.
โJust me running routes. It was non-contact and something I canโt control,โ McMillan said at Big 12 Media Day at Allegiant Stadium on Wednesday.
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 12โs football Media Days event โ the lei a gift from McMillanโs mother, Shawny โ recently told the Star McMillan is โmoving along and progressing great." On Wednesday he said โwe donโt know enough yet if itโs going to be full-throttle or not.โ
Added Brennan: โWeโre going to be really smart about that one,โ and not rush McMillan back.
โMake sure heโs ready to go when itโs time,โ he said.
McMillan is โnot too sureโ about potential restrictions at the start of training camp, but said his leg is โfine.โ
โI donโt 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,โ McMillan said. โIโm ready to put some cleats back on.โ
McMillan enters his junior season as one of the top pass-catchers in college football. The 6-5, 210-pound McMillan, Arizonaโs 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, Arizonaโs current wide receivers coach, for the most career receiving yards in program history.
โThatโs obviously the goal,โ McMillan said of potentially setting Arizonaโs all-time receiving yards record. โCoach Bobby does a good job of encouraging me to do that. At the end of the day, all records are meant to be broken.โ
McMillan said Wade โis probably going to be a little salty, but I know at the end of the day that heโll be happy for me.โ
In the spring, Wade said McMillan setting the record is โone of the biggest parts of this mission for me and he knows that.โ
McMillan is โis one of those rare people that is actually fiercely competitive, but is having fun during the competition,โ akin to NBA superstar Stephen Curry, said Brennan.
โHe looks like heโs having so much more fun than everybody else,โ Brennan said. โThen as a talent or as a receiver ... T-Macโs body control, his ability to finish 50-50 balls โ I think so many games in college or the NFL come down to a 50-50 throw on a short-yardage play where you canโt run it because they have too many people in the box, and his ability to finish those catches, and Noahโs ability to throw them, makes T-Mac extremely rare.โ
McMillanโs longtime best friend and teammate, Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita, said on Wednesday that McMillan, a likely first-round selection in next yearโs NFL Draft, โis going to show this year that heโs the best player in the country.โ
โThe tape speaks for itself,โ Fifita said. โWhen you really break it down and see the ball skills, body control and hands, those are things you canโt really teach. Beyond that, just the character. You donโt see a lot of guys his caliber as humble as him. Heโs a program-changer, heโs a culture-changer, and thatโs why youโll see him go in the Top 5 (of the NFL Draft this year).โ
Already one of the most productive wide receivers McMillan has set lofty expectations for himself for the upcoming season.
โI want to exceed what I did this past year,โ McMillan said. โTo me, my (sophomore) season wasnโt as good as it seemed. I wasnโt really satisfied with my performances last year. I can do a lot better, so Iโm looking forward to that.โ
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 โ the fewest losses since the 12-1 season in 1998; the seven-game winning streak to end the season is also the UAโs best since โ98. Arizona finished No. 11 in the Associated Press Top 25, the highest ranking to end a season since โ98.
With a majority of its starters and nucleus back for another season, including McMillan, โsky is the limit for this Arizona football teamโ entering a new conference, said Arizonaโs star receiver.
โI think we can do some great things,โ said McMillan. โBeing in the Big 12 championship is ahead of us, and the national championship is not far.โ
Extra points
Arizona athletic director Desireรฉ Reed-Francois told the Star new season-ticket sales have increased by 40% since last seasonโs 10-3 finish that culminated with a win over Oklahoma in the Valero Alamo Bowl.
Brennan, on the transition as Arizonaโs head coach: โItโs been great. Itโs been fast and furious, but itโs been wonderful to be at a place that Iโve thought highly of and that I love and appreciate in the University of Arizona and Tucson, Arizona. Weโre just trying to build a football team and keep moving forward every day, and itโs been buying a house and getting acclimated and all that stuff. Weโre not quite done yet, but weโre kind of getting focused on football now, so thatโs more important.โ
Brennan, a former UA graduate assistant in 2000, said โitโs very special for me to be backโ at Arizona. Said Brennan: I will say itโs an incredible responsibility because of how much I know everyone cares about Arizona football.โ