Michael Lev: UA football staff doing right by Tetairoa McMillan by limiting him to start camp

The best player on the Arizona football team — someone who has a chance to become the greatest player in program history — did not take a single practice rep during the first day of training camp Wednesday.

It’s nothing to worry about.

The Wildcats’ preseason All-American and future first-round NFL Draft pick spent the first day of camp at the Dick Tomey Practice Fields working with a trainer off to the side while his teammates caught passes and scored touchdowns.

It’s all part of the process.

Junior receiver Tetairoa McMillan’s ramp-up is underway. Last we saw him in a UA practice setting, he had a cast on his left foot/ankle and used a scooter to get around. On Wednesday, he shuffled and hopped and ran. He wore a helmet and cleats, just like everyone else. He just so happened to spend almost all of those two-plus hours alongside Cullen Carroll, Arizona’s director of football strength and conditioning.

It’s all part of the plan. And it’s the right thing to do.

There is absolutely no reason to rush T-Mac back. There is no reason to accelerate his timetable. There is no reason to risk reinjury.

McMillan is too valuable to the UA program. His future is too bright. His importance cannot be overstated.

“We’re always going to do what’s best for T-Mac,” UA coach Brent Brennan said. “We’ll always do what’s best for the player in that situation. We don’t want to rush a player into playing.

“Those decisions are not coaching decisions, ever. Those are medical decisions and player decisions, family decisions.”

Brennan does not like to talk about injuries. He has deflected every injury-related question thrown his way during his brief Arizona tenure. It’s a bit frustrating for us in the media; our objective is to obtain and relay information (or at least it should be). But he’s been consistent about it, and I respect that.

As a result, though, very little is publicly known about McMillan’s injury. Many of us were on the scene when it happened. It looked completely innocuous. A one-on-one rep against cornerback Tacario Davis on the second-to-last Saturday of spring ball. McMillan took a false step. He came up gimpy.

We can deduce that the injury was to his lower left leg since he subsequently sported a cast below the knee. We also know that he had some sort of surgery soon after; Brennan described it as a “little procedure.”

Brennan said at Big 12 Media Days on July 10 that McMillan would be a “version of full-go” for training camp, adding: “We don’t know enough yet if it’s going to be full-throttle or not.”

It’s definitely not. At least not yet. And without knowing exactly what the injury was, we have no way of knowing whether McMillan’s rehab is ahead of, on or behind schedule.

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“I think he’s where he should be, and that doesn’t surprise me at all,” Brennan said. “First of all, he’s very young. He’s blessed with this incredible, healthy body. He’s healing fast and recovering quicker than somebody old like me would.”

McMillan’s health history is more than just a footnote here. He had never been injured during his first two seasons at Arizona. He appeared in all 25 games. He’s bigger and stronger than he’s ever been. That’s reassuring.

I kept an eye on McMillan during Wednesday’s practice, and he looked fit from afar. He started out doing lunges, side shuffles and backpedals at no more than half-speed. When his fellow receivers worked on route combinations in the red zone, McMillan started to move faster. Eventually, with a harness and a bungee cord attached to his midsection, he took off in a full-steam sprint down the sideline.

Alas, the closest McMillan came to catching a pass was when he stood near the trash can that the quarterbacks were trying to throw the ball into between drills. He looked a bit forlorn. Which would be completely understandable. McMillan practices and plays with an infectious enthusiasm. He loves the game. It has to be frustrating for him to have to sit out — even if it’s the correct course of action.

“He’s a competitor, and he’s a leader,” said quarterback Noah Fifita, who’s also McMillan’s closest friend. “You could see him on the side working to get back. He’s been doing that all along. So he’s in a really good spot.”

Fifita didn’t seem the least bit concerned about his buddy’s availability for the Aug. 31 opener against New Mexico and beyond. That was also reassuring.

It was disconcerting to see McMillan, Davis and fellow defensive back Treydan Stukes all spending time on “rehab island.” It is not a lavish getaway.

Those are three of Arizona’s top six or so players, and none of them took team reps in the first practice of training camp. Standout guard Wendell Moe seemed to be limited as well.

We — fans and media alike — tend to make a bigger deal out of the first camp practice than any of the others. After going months without football, it’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of it being back.

But it’s important — albeit difficult — to keep things in perspective. The season is still a month away. We have no reason to believe any of those players won’t be good to go for the Lobos.

The smart thing to do is to make sure — beyond any shadow of a doubt — that they’re completely healthy and ready to play. That seems to be the plan so far.

My advice to Wildcat Nation regarding the early absence of McMillan and others: Don’t panic.

Brennan and Carroll, who’s entering his second decade as a Division I sports-performance coach, know what they’re doing. They know how to get players prepared for a long, grueling season. They know it’s a step-by-step progression.

Speaking of which, by the latter half of practice, McMillan was working on route breaks — starting-and-stopping, changing directions, chopping his feet.

Barring an unforeseen setback, it’s only a matter of time before T-Mac’s fully back. Be patient. Hang in there. He’s coming.