Tetairoa McMillan addresses Arizona's 'different expectations,' body language, NFL plans

Believe it or not, Arizona star wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan had aspirations to play quarterback growing up.

His longtime best friend and UA quarterback Noah Fifita quickly put the kibosh on those plans once McMillan joined the Orange County Buckeyes youth football team in California.

“Once I met (Fifita), my quarterback career was over until I got to college,” Ever since I saw him play quarterback, I knew it was over with for me, but I’m still QB2 now, so we’re good.”

McMillan isn’t actually Arizona’s QB2 on the depth chart, but he’s the only other Wildcat besides Fifita to attempt a pass this season. McMillan threw two passes in the Wildcats’ 31-26 loss to West Virginia and finished with 10 receptions for 202 yards and a touchdown. The first pass was a 14-yard completion to Fifita in the first half, then a could’ve-been touchdown to the Arizona quarterback in the Wildcats’ final drive, but Fifita dropped the ball.

Fifita redeemed himself shortly after with a 3-yard scramble and touchdown run, plowing through three WVU defenders at the goal line.

“He messed up my passer rating in college football,” McMillan said of Fifita, jokingly. “I’m supposed to be 5 for 5 right now with two touchdowns right now, but it’s all right. He made up for it the next play, so I’m not mad at all.”

Both pass attempts were improvised by McMillan and Fifita. McMillan had the option to run, but he trusted his instincts while reading the defense — and found the player that’s usually throwing him the football.

“Every time the ball touches my hands, just make a play,” McMillan said. “At the end of the day, it’s my job to make a play and that’s what I had to go out there and do. Just like a quarterback, my first read wasn’t there and so I made my read, thought about running the ball. Shoot, I’m seeing (Fifita) wide-open, so why not throw it to the wide-open guy?”

The double passes “were things we wanted to call earlier in the season, we just didn’t get to them,” said Arizona head coach Brent Brennan. “I think any time you put the ball into a special player’s hand, you have a chance for something special to happen.”

Barring Arizona not qualifying for a bowl berth, the next four games in the regular season will more than likely be McMillan’s last at the UA. McMillan needs 266 yards to become Arizona’s all-time leading receiver.

Here are some of the most pertinent items McMillan discussed on Tuesday, as the Wildcats prepare for their trip to Orlando to face UCF and snap a four-game losing streak:

Has there been a point this season where you thought, ‘This isn’t what I signed up for,’ and how have you handled this season’s struggles?

A: “It’s a lot different than last season, because obviously we had different expectations going into this year. I know there are probably some players and a lot of people in the building and fans that are pretty disappointed in us, but God never makes a mistake and we’re here because we’re supposed to be here. I feel like it’s our job to battle this adversity, and the best thing we can do is make a bowl game. We gotta do whatever we can to win these next four games.”

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Since you’re a projected first-round draft pick, have you thought about life after the season and preparation for the NFL?

A: “We’re worried about right now. If this is our last four to five games in college football, we want to be able to enjoy it with our brothers and make use of our time and have as much fun as we can. We’re going to focus on UCF this week and these upcoming games and we’ll see what happens.”

Fans and followers of Arizona football have pointed out, on social media, your poor body language on the sidelines. Is there truth to those observations?

A: “At the end of the day, I had super-high expectations for this team, specifically the offense. Things weren’t going our way after the first game, so I was a little frustrated, but I think I’ve matured in that aspect and have been a lot better, being more of a leader. Shoot, just enjoying my last time playing with brothers, if it is (my last year). I’m just trying to enjoy these last couple of games with my boys, if that’s what it comes down to. I’m just trying to have fun.”

Did anyone talk to you about body language?

A: “I was talking to Coach Bobby (Wade), but I knew it was bad when outside people were telling me that my body language was not good. I had to fix it, grow up and mature and be there for everybody else. I think I fixed that.”

What are the conversations like with you and Fifita about the season not living up to the expectations?

A: “We don’t really dwell on the last couple of games. It’s more like, ‘What can we do now? What can we do to win the next game? What can we do to get us to a bowl game and get us to play in December?’ This team, we don’t want our last game to be in November. Whatever we can (do) to help this team to play in December and get a bowl game, we’re going to try and do the best we can.”

Davis named Thorpe semifinalist

Arizona Wildcats junior cornerback Tacario Davis was named a Jim Thorpe Award semifinalist on Tuesday. The national award is given annually to the top defensive back in college football.

Davis leads the Wildcats this season in pass breakups (5), which he recorded in Arizona’s upset win over No. 10 Utah. Following his performance against Utah, Davis was named the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week and the Jim Thorpe National Defensive Back of the Week.

Davis is projected to land at No. 24 in the first round of the NFL Draft, according to ESPN’s latest mock draft. The last UA defensive back to go in the first round of the NFL Draft is Antoine Cason in 2008; he’s also the last Wildcat to win the Jim Thorpe Award.

Extra points

• Arizona is hiring
  • Bud Sasser as the associate athletic director for contract management, Sasser announced on X (Twitter) Monday evening. Sasser’s role is expected to be centered around NIL and revenue sharing. Beginning next season, the NCAA will implement a revenue-sharing model that will pay each school roughly $22 million as part of a $2.8 billion antitrust settlement proposal. Sasser said, “Revenue sharing and NIL has shifted the landscape as we all know.” Sasser played wide receiver at Missouri, UA athletic
    • Desireé Reed-Francois‘ previous stop, and was drafted by the St. Louis Rams in 2015, but a heart condition prevented him from playing. Sasser was the Rams’ external football affairs coordinator and most recently attended Missouri law school.
    • Former Wildcat and Sabino High School graduate Drew Dixon is returning to Tucson to play for the Sugar Skulls, Tucson’s IFL franchise. Following four seasons at Arizona from 2017-20, Dixon transferred to Division II Limestone University in Gaffney, South Carolina, where he appeared in 17 games and caught 72 passes for 1,133 yards and nine touchdowns. Dixon signed an undrafted free agent deal with the Green Bay Packers in the spring, but was waived. Dixon becomes the second ex-Wildcat to play for the Sugar Skulls. Former UA linebacker Rashie Hodge played for Tucson’s IFL team two seasons ago.