Arizona's Tetairoa McMillan, Jacob Manu and Tacario Davis named preseason All-Americans by Phil Steele

It's the middle of summer, which means it's the time of year for preseason honors and watch lists leading up to the college football season.  

Phil Steele Magazine, an annual college football preview publication that rates and ranks teams and players across the nation each summer in the lead-up to the new season, named three Wildcats as preseason All-Americans. The Wildcats included: first-team selection and star wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan. Linebacker Jacob Manu and cornerback Tacario Davis were named third-team All-Americans. 

McMillan, right tackle Jonah Savaiinaea and kicker Tyler Loop were named to Phil Steele Magazine's All-Big 12 First Team, while Davis was a second-team choice. Quarterback Noah Fifita, center Josh Baker and defensive back Treydan Stukes were named third-team selections.  

McMillan, who is the highest-rated signee in Arizona football history in the modern recruiting era, will enter his third season as a mainstay in Arizona's offense. 

McMillan ended his sophomore campaign with the second-most receiving yards (1,402) in a season by a UA receiver. McMillan’s career-high happened in the 2023 Territorial Cup game, an 11-catch, 266-yard, one-touchdown performance in a 36-point win over Arizona State. McMillan was a second-team All-Pac-12 selection and received third-team Associated Press All-American honors.

Manu led the Pac-12 in tackles (116) and was named to the All-Pac-12 First Team and Associated Press All-Pac-12 First Team. Manu was the first Wildcat to lead the Pac-12 in tackles since Scooby Wright III in 2014. 

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Last season, the 6-4, 195-pound Davis grew into one of the top defensive backs nationally after leading the Pac-12 in pass breakups (16) and received an 87.5 coverage grade from Pro Football Focus.

Arizona kicks off the 2024 season at home against New Mexico on Aug. 31 at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN. 

Extra points

• Pro Football Focus analyst Chad Maxwick rated Arizona's defensive secondary as the 10th-best in college football behind Ohio State, Iowa, Notre Dame, Michigan, Oregon, Texas, Georgia, Wisconsin and Oklahoma. Arizona is the only Big 12 team on PFF's list of top secondaries. 

• PFF analyst Dalton Wasserman named Arizona as one of the four most underrated teams entering the season, along with Georgia Tech, Indiana and Kansas. 

• PFF rated UA defensive tackle Kevon Darton, a transfer from Syracuse, as the seventh-best defensive tackle in the Big 12 (74.3).