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Max Olson, ESPN staff writer
Arizona wide receiver Tetairoa Macmillan started his highly anticipated junior season with a record-setting night.
The preseason All-American and projected first-round selection set a new school record with 304 receiving yards and four touchdowns on 10 catches for the No. 21 Wildcats. 61-39 win Above new Mexico,
The 6-foot-5, 210-pound wideout posted the first 300-yard performance by a college receiver since the 1990s. Ohio State‘S Jackson Smith-Njigba 347 receiving yards against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Utah In the 2022 Rose Bowl. Only five other FBS receivers have topped 300 yards in the past decade.
In Arizona’s first game as a member of the Big 12, McMillan recorded the second-most receiving yards in a game in conference history. His previous career high was a 266-yard game against opponent Arizona State in the last season.
McMillan scored on plays of 69, 17, 78 and 40 yards and nearly had a fifth TD reception but was tackled at the 1-yard line. More than half of his receiving yards (176) came after the catch.
“T-Mac is definitely special, man,” first-year Arizona coach Brent Brennan said. “He’s something else.”
McMillan missed some time this offseason recovering from a foot injury he suffered during spring practice, but he said it felt “amazing” to be back on the field.
“I’ve been working hard for the last four months and I’m ready to get back on the field,” he said. “To be able to play with my brothers again is a true blessing. Regardless of the record, I’m just happy to be back on the field with my brothers.”
New Mexico kept pace with the Wildcats in the first half and took a 24-17 lead into the second quarter. Three plays later, McMillan burned the Lobos for a 78-yard catch and run down the sideline to tie the game.
“Those big explosive players were unbelievable,” Brennan said. “He outran the whole secondary on big shots down the sideline. He’s awesome. He’s a great competitor, and he’s never satisfied. He’d say, ‘We can play better.’ That’s what you expect.”
Arizona racked up 627 total yards of offense and averaged 11 yards per game, with quarterback Noah Fifita throwing for 422 yards and transfer running backs Jacorey Krosky-Merritt (New Mexico) and Qualey Conley (San Jose State) combining to rush for 196 yards and four scores.
McMillan emerged as one of college football’s most dominant playmakers in 2023, making 90 catches for 1,402 yards (fifth-most in FBS) and 10 touchdowns as a sophomore on a Wildcats team that won 10 games and the Alamo Bowl.
After Jedd Fisch and his coaching staff took over Washington in January, Fifita and McMillan opted to bypass the transfer portal and stay in Arizona. The former Servite High School teammates wanted to continue playing together and help make Brennan a contender.
“All the people that are in this building, the brotherhood that we already had, the culture that we had established here, we just didn’t want to leave this building,” McMillan said. “The legacy that we already had that started here, we wanted to continue that legacy. After all, we came to Tucson to be a program-changer. Hopefully, Tucson, you can all be proud of our game.”
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