4-Star WR Tetairoa McMillan Signs Letter of Intent with Arizona

Photo credit: Andrew Ivins, 247Sports

The University of Arizona announced Saturday that wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan signed a letter of intent to play at the school.

As part of the announcement, Arizona noted that McMillan is the highest-ranked recruit in the history of the program.

McMillan is the fifth-best wide receiver and 46th-best overall player in the 2022 recruiting class, per 247Sports’ composite rankings.

He initially committed to Oregon in August, but head coach Mario Cristobal’s departure for Miami led to obvious questions about whether that decision would hold. He allayed any fears about that to 247Sports’ Greg Biggins.

“It’s been wild,” he said (h/t Ducks Wire’s Zachary Neel). “My phone is blowing up right now. I’ve heard a lot from USC as well as Arizona and Clemson. Right now, my plan is to stay committed and I still want to go to Oregon.”

Despite that, McMillan made the decision to flip to one of Oregon’s Pac-12 rivals in the Wildcats.

McMillan’s sophomore numbers (65 receptions, 851 yards, 12 touchdowns) don’t necessarily jump off the page, but they were good enough to get him on to MaxPreps’ All-American team for 2022 recruits.

Thanks to his 6’4″, 185-pound frame, the Servite (Anaheim, California) star is easy to spot in any highlight reel.

Biggins wrote about McMillan in July 2019, noting one exciting aspect about him is how much more he could continue to fill out:

“He’s already 6’3”, 185 pounds, and by the time he’s a senior at Servite, will likely be in the 200-plus range. He’s a rangy safety/corner right now but could even grow into a linebacker by the time he hits a college campus.

“As a receiver, McMillan has exceptional hands and body control. He’s an elite volleyball player and has tremendous leaping ability. He’s a brutal matchup in jump ball and red zone situations and has the speed to get behind a defense as well.”

McMillan’s high school career in general is a great example of why student-athletes should pursue multiple sports. Not only is he a star on the gridiron, but he’s also an all-league volleyball player and a member of Servite’s basketball team. The skills he honed in those disciplines are bound to come in handy on the gridiron.

Because of his size, McMillan should be a red-zone threat right out of the gate. Over time, he should grow into one of FBS’ top pass-catchers.

Arizona has finished with a losing record in each of the past four seasons and has gone just 1-16 combined over the past two seasons.

Jedd Fisch’s first season as the head coach at Arizona in 2021 was rough with the Wildcats finishing 1-11, but securing a top-flight recruit like McMillan could be a sign that the tide is turning.