Week one of the college football season is underway and fans got to witness plenty of spectacular performances. Boise State's Ashton Jeanty had 256 yards and a school-record six touchdowns, Cam Ward dazzled in his first game at Miami and Colorado’s Travis Hunter flashed his two-way prowess against North Dakota State. Arguably, the best showing this week came out of Arizona and highly-touted wideout Tetairoa McMillan. He was a force to be reckoned with against New Mexico racking up 300 yards and four touchdowns on 10 grabs. He also had a multitude of 70-yard touchdowns to go along with it.
Background:
According to 247 Sports. McMillan played his high school days at Servite High School in California. He was a four-star recruit and originally committed to Oregon, before flipping his decision to the University of Arizona. McMillan also played basketball and volleyball in high school. His quarterback in high school was Noah Fifita, who followed him to Arizona and is the current starting quarterback who has his own upside as a player. McMillan stands at a tall six-foot-five and has taken over as the primary receiver for the Wildcats the past two seasons. In 2023, Fifita took over the reins at quarterback and McMillan put up 1402 yards and ten touchdowns, according to ESPN. His name shot up boards with many loving the receivers tall frame and ability to win jump balls with ease.
In his debut in 2024, he added fuel to the fire with his performance against New Mexico, torching their defense into the depths of the night. However, he is more than just a tall wide out.
Strengths:
- He uses his frame to its fullest.
- A very big red zone threat, making it hard for even the best corners to stop him from getting into the endzone.
- Able to make catches through contact.
- Very aware of where his feet are on the field.
- Able to find soft spots in the opponent's zone to exploit.
- Very quick for a receiver of his size.
- 50/50 balls are more like 80/20 balls for him.
- Arizona would play him out of the slot showcasing his versatility as a receiver with how valuable the slot receiver is in today’s game.
Weaknesses:
- Needs to improve his release at the line.
- Struggles at times creating separation.
- Not a very active blocker in the run game.
- Doesn’t consistently run the best routes.
Projection:
Tetairoa McMillan is a very intriguing and skillful receiver who has a lot of traits that teams in the NFL crave out of a primary “X” receiver. His ability to win jump balls and make spectacular grabs out of the air are truly one-of-one out of current college receivers. If he can touch up his route running and release packages, he will easily be in conversations for the overall WR1 come April alongside Missouri’s Luther Burden. The interesting thing is that the two are very different receivers, it depends on what a team is looking for out of an alpha wide receiver. Whether they want a consistent route runner and someone who is a powder keg after the catch, or someone who can save bad throws and have reliable hands at the point-of-attack. Tetairoa is a first-round lock and if he's anything like he was against New Mexico for the rest of the year, then look out.