There is a lot of excitement and perhaps great expectations for the Arizona Wildcats team as they enter this new era of Big 12 play under the leadership of new head coach Brent Brennan.
This group has many holdovers from last year and is expected to make waves if they continue to play at a high level on offense and thwart different tactics on defense than in the past.
For that to happen, their superstar wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan must get healthy again this month and begin working his way back onto the field as part of the preseason.
Arizona has been cautious during his recovery so far, wisely introducing him to drills slowly so as not to re-aggravate the injury that caused him to miss the spring game.
If McMillan is cleared to return to the team, the Wildcats will have one of the best pass-catching weapons in the country from their star quarterback, and hopefully he can build on his 1,402 yards and 10 touchdowns in the 2023-24 season.
He is consistently ranked as one of the best wide receivers in college football and a potential first-round draft pick, and also ranks high on Bruce Feldman’s vaunted “Freaks List.”
Every year since 2005, Feldman has profiled the athletic talents currently competing as student-athletes. Schools, coaches, teammates, parents, NFL scouts, combine coaches and agents all give him tips on who is making waves in the weight room and on the field.
This edition for The athlete has 101 names on the list, with McMillan at number 23.
“T-Mac is probably the biggest freak I’ve ever seen,” former Arizona head coach Jedd Fisch told Feldman. “He doesn’t have that great vertical, but his coordination is uncanny. He has great hand-eye coordination. He’s the best athlete I’ve ever seen.”
Considering that Fisch spent about 12 years in various roles in the NFL, that’s pretty high praise.
Although McMillan can’t jump high, his 6’4″ size allows him to catch contested balls by jumping up and getting the ball over defenders. Despite that size, he was able to increase his speed, reaching a top speed of 22 mph during his two seasons in Arizona.
Feldman asked the Wildcats star about his jumping ability and the talented junior was not shy in discussing the topic.
“My vertical is not as good as you think. I’ll tell you right now, I don’t have the best vertical in our receiving room. People would be really surprised. It’s about 33 or 34 inches. When I got out of high school, it was about 31,” he said.
Perhaps this is precisely what should highlight what a good athlete he is, making it to number 23 on this vaunted list, even though his vertical jumping ability is not exactly considered “exceptional.”
