The Arizona football program has a big season ahead of them in 2024, with new head coach Brent Brennan replacing Jedd Fisch, and a new set of opponents in the Big 12 replacing those that the Wildcats had been playing in the Pac-12, and before that, the Pac-10, since 1978. But at two of the most important positions on the field, the Wildcats have continuity, friendship and boatloads of talent.
Tetairoa McMillan has been catching passes from Noah Fifita since high school, and when McMillan decided to follow his quarterback to the University of Arizona, it gave the Wildcats their highest-rated signing ever. Through two years in Tucson, T-Mac has been better than even the most optimistic Arizona fans could've expected, and because he has the potential not just to be the best wide receiver in the Big 12, but one of the best players in the nation, it goes without saying that he's the biggest X-factor on the Arizona Wildcats.
By this time, you've probably already either hopped on to the Tetairoa McMillan bandwagon, or at least watched that sucker fly past you, because with the start of the season only a week away, it's rumbling down the track at full speed. McMillan was ranked as the 15th-best player in the country by Pro Football Focus, and named a preseason All-American by ESPN after being named a 3rd Team AP All-American last season.
As a true sophomore, Tetairoa McMillan finished with 1,402 receiving yards, which was 2nd in the Pac-12, 5th in the nation. Malik Nabers and Rome Odunze were the only two Power 5 conference receivers who had more receiving yards than McMillan. Over the last seven games of the year, all Arizona wins, T-Mac exploded, hauling in 57 receptions for 878 yards and 5 touchdowns. Keep in mind, McMillan was competing for targets last year with San Francisco 49ers 4th round pick Jacob Cowing, who like McMillan, had 90 catches in 2023. With Cowing out of the picture, McMillan's volume could conceivably increase in 2024, which means records could fall before T-Mac heads to the NFL Draft.
Tetairoa McMillan could set Arizona records before heading to NFL
Most draft experts have either McMillan or Missouri's Luther Burden III ranked as the top wide receiver prospect in the 2025 class. Any team that comes away with either of these two receivers will be bringing in a player with instant Pro Bowl potential.
You'd be hard-pressed to find a troubling weakness in T-Mac's game. He's big and athletic, yet he's a crisp route-runner with explosive short-area quickness, which gives the Wildcats the option of lining McMillan up on the outside or in the slot. He has a huge catch radius and ridiculous hands, finishing with the second-most contested catches among all FBS receivers, and the lowest drop rate among Power 5 wideouts who had at least 100 targets in 2023, according to Pro Football Focus. And like Burden, McMillan is young, not turning 22 years old until April.
But before T-Mac turns his attention to the NFL, he and the Wildcats have the potential to put together one of the best seasons in school history. A Big 12 title may seem like a slightly optimistic outcome, but it's very much in play, and that would give Arizona an automatic bid into the new 12-team College Football Playoff.
As for McMillan himself, I think he goes for over 1,600 yards receiving this year, which would move him into the top 10 in single-season receiving yards in Big 12 history and break Dennis Northcut's Arizona single-season receiving record. With a 1,600-yard season, McMillan would easily eclipse Bobby Wade's career Arizona record as well.
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