Arizona's Tetairoa McMillan 'going to play' in season opener vs. New Mexico

Arizona head coach Brent Brennan addressed the status of Tetairoa McMillan for the No. 21-ranked Wildcats’ season opener against the New Mexico Lobos on Saturday.

It’s more like Brennan shrugged off the idea of Arizona’s star wide receiver being held out of the season opener to continue his rehab for the left leg injury he suffered in April.

“T-Mac is going to play — come on,” Brennan said with a smile.

McMillan underwent surgery for the injury and missed the final week of spring practices and Arizona’s spring game. In the early stages of fall training camp, McMillan was limited to a series of workouts, balance drills and route-running with strength and conditioning coach Cullen Carroll.

As training camp progressed, McMillan’s participation in practice increased. He went from sideline-watcher to participating in drills and running routes, before slowly adding 7-on-7 and team reps — enough to “wow” Arizona offensive coordinator Dino Babers, who said, “I’m not sure I’ve met anyone like (McMillan).”

“The only person I’ve seen with a catch radius like that is Larry Fitzgerald,” Babers said earlier in the month. “I’m not comparing him to Larry because he played 17 years (in the NFL); I’m telling you he’s not normal. He may be better than anyone I’ve ever coached. We’ll see.

“I’ve coached some really good ones and they played really well in the pros. At the college level, he might be better than anyone I’ve ever coached.”

McMillan needs 1,248 yards this season to pass Bobby Wade, Arizona’s current wide receivers coach, for all-time receiving yards at the UA. He’ll take the first step toward that record on Saturday.

Lobos ‘creative defensively,’ ‘have some weapons’ on ‘O’

New Mexico (0-1) played its season opener on Saturday and fell to FCS Montana State 35-31 in Albuquerque. The Lobos frittered away a 17-point lead, twice, in the season-opening setback and head coach Bronco Mendenhall’s debut at UNM.

The Bobcats out-gained New Mexico 567-325 in total yards of offense and scored the go-ahead touchdown with 10 seconds left to play — their first lead on Saturday. The Lobos were 1 of 8 on third-down conversions.

New Mexico flashed encouraging signs for the first season under Mendenhall, the former Virginia and BYU head coach. The Lobos scored two scoop-and-score touchdowns on defense, and quarterback Devon Dampier, a former Scottsdale Saguaro High School star, completed 18 of 26 passes for 172 yards and a touchdown while recording three rushing attempts for 34 yards and a touchdown.

“They look like they play hard,” Brennan said of New Mexico. “They’re definitely creative defensively. Offensively, they definitely have some weapons. As I watched that, I felt like they were one catch away from it being over. I was really impressed with both sides of the ball. I know Bronco has been a really good coach for a really long time. They’re going to be ready to play — and they have the advantage of playing a game, where we haven’t so it’s a little bit different.”

Even though New Mexico doesn’t have video evidence of what to expect from the Wildcats in the first season under Brennan, the Arizona coach said the Lobos “have the benefit of playing a tough, four-quarter game, which there are benefits to that.”

“We have the benefit of having some tape on them,” Brennan said. “I’m sure they see it the same way. I assume they do.”

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Since Arizona is a 30-point favorite to beat New Mexico, will the Wildcats’ offensive playbook be vanilla and a cookie-cutter plan to avoid revealing the playbook too much?

“All I want to do is win,” Brennan said. “So whatever we need to call up to find a way to play good football and give ourselves a chance to win is what I want to do.”

Coach-to-player communication

The Wildcats will debut coach-to-player communication in helmets for the first time on Saturday. One offensive and one defensive player will be assigned a helmet for communication, which will be marked with a green decal on the back of the helmet. As expected, Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita will be the offensive representative. The defensive helmet is “under consideration” but will likely go to Jacob Manu, who moved from “Will” to “Mike” linebacker on Arizona’s depth chart. Free safety Gunner Maldonado, who defensive coordinator Duane Akina said “can project his voice to the entire defense due to his position on the field,” is also in consideration for the communication helmet.

“The communication has been good,” Brennan said. “We were able to practice it a bunch. I think the tablets are going to be a useful tool for everybody.”

Added Brennan: “The big thing that everyone needs to remember is that no matter what happens in the game, you can not show a tablet to an official. That’s a big one — that’s a bad one. Just want to make sure everybody on my staff knows that. Under no circumstances are we doing that.”

Few ex-Cats named starters as Dawgs

On the same day Arizona released its depth chart for Week 1, the Washington Huskies, led by former UA head coach Jedd Fisch, released their depth chart, which had four ex-Wildcats listed as starters.

Running back Jonah Coleman, who led the Wildcats in rushing last season, is the only Arizona transfer in the offensive starting lineup. Defensive end Isaiah Ward, nickel back Jordan Shaw (a transfer from Indiana who was to end up at Arizona but flipped to Washington), and cornerback Ephesians Prysock are the defensive starters from Arizona, albeit Prysock is a co-starter with Elijah Jackson.

Edge rusher Russell Davis II wasn’t included on the two-deep depth chart. Former top in-state quarterback Demond Williams, a Chandler Basha product, is the backup quarterback to Mississippi State transfer Will Rogers III, who beat Fisch and Arizona while with MSU both of the last two seasons. Former UA slot receiver Kevin Green Jr., who transferred after the spring, isn’t on Washington’s Week 1 depth chart.

Extra points

• Brennan said, “I think college football is the best sport in the country.” Added Brennan: “I think it’s magical. ... I know there’s people that like watching games in the comfort of their home, but there’s nothing like the smell of walking into a stadium on game day and what that feels like and being a part of the experience. It’s one of the most special things that happen every Saturday in the fall.”
• Mendenhall, on Arizona: “Arizona is really talented. They have a really good quarterback, receiving corps is great, running backs. They’re a talented football team. The challenge is great. It’s the next step for the program, and we’re looking forward to it.”
• Mendenhall, on Fifita: “Holy smokes. He’s really good. It’s fun to watch a really good college football player.”
• Brennan said the message he’s voicing to Arizona this week “is that it’s all about us.” Said Brennan: “It’s about our process and how we prepare. It’s very simple, it’s boring and it’s not sexy. But it’s all about the detail of our process and preparation. That part sometimes gets lost with the exposure, the media, friends, family, fans, all of that stuff. It’s about us and this football, how we go about our business this week preparing for this game. My expectations are to play well, and those will be my expectations every week.”
• Brian Custer (play-by-play), Rod Gilmore (analyst) and Lauren Sisler (sideline) will be the broadcasting crew for the Arizona-New Mexico game on ESPN.