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Max Olson, ESPN writer
Arizona’s Tetairoa McMillan started his highly anticipated third-tier season with a record-breaking night.
The preseason All-American and projected first-round pick set a new school record with 304 receiving yards and four touchdowns on 10 receptions in the No. 21 Wildcats’ 61-39 win over visiting New Mexico.
The 6-foot-5, 210-pound receiver recorded the first 300-yard performance by a college receiver since Ohio State’s Jackson Smith-Nigba had 347 receiving yards against Utah in the 2022 Rose Bowl. Only five other FBS players have surpassed 300 yards over the past decade.
In Arizona’s first game as a member of the Big 12, McMillan recorded the second-highest number of receiving yards in a game in conference history. The previous career high was 266 yards in a game against rival Arizona State last season.
McMillan scored on plays of 69, 17, 78 and 40 yards and nearly scored a fifth but was stopped at the 1-yard line. More than half of his receiving yards (176) came after receiving.
“T-Mac is obviously a special player, he’s a completely different person,” said Brent Brennan, Arizona’s first-year coach.
McMillan missed some time during the offseason while recovering from a lower leg injury he suffered during spring training and said it felt “amazing” to be back on the field.
“Over the past four months, I have been working hard and preparing to get back on the pitch,” he said. “Being able to play with my brothers again is a real blessing. Regardless of the records, I am very happy to be back on the pitch with my brothers.”
New Mexico continued to outpace the Wildcats throughout the first half and led 24-17 late in the second quarter. Three plays later, McMillan burned the Lobos with a 78-yard touchdown catch and a run down the sideline to tie the score.
“Those big explosives were really amazing,” Brennan said. “He outplayed the entire secondary on that big attack down the sideline. He’s great. He’s a great competitor, but he’s also not satisfied. He was like, ‘We can play better.’ That’s what you hope for.”
Arizona produced 627 total yards of offense and averaged 11 yards per game, with quarterback Noah Fifita throwing for 422 yards, while transfer running backs Jacorey Croskey-Merritt (New Mexico) and Kwale Conley (San Jose State) combined for 196 rushing yards and four scores.
McMillan emerged as one of college football’s most dominant playmakers in 2023 with 90 passes 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 Jed Fish and his coaching staff left to take over at Washington in January, Fifita and McMillan opted to bypass the transfer window and stay in Arizona. The former teammates at Servette High School in Anaheim, Calif., wanted to continue playing together and help Brennan build a competitive team.
“Everyone in this building, the brotherhood that we had, the culture that was built here, we didn’t want to leave this building,” McMillan said. “The legacy that we have started here, and we wanted to continue that legacy. Ultimately, we came to Tucson to change the program. We hope that all of you in Tucson can find pride in our play.”
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