Arizona Wildcats Get Huge Injury Update on Their Superstar Wide Receiver
There was some concern when Arizona's superstar wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan was held out of the spring game with a lower leg injury after he underwent "a little procedure."
His recovery has continued on into fall camp, sidelining him throughout these preseason practices as the Wildcats begin to build towards their opener on August 31.
Despite that, all signs pointed to him being ready to start the year, and on Sunday, Arizona fans finally got some news they were hoping to hear regarding the availabilty of McMillan.
Jason Scheer of 247Spors reported that their star wide out participated in 11-on-11 for the first time in camp, and although he was wearing a red jersey that signaled no contact, the fact he has now been cleared to participate in these kinds of drills is a huge step to getting him back in the mix.
The junior is coming off a Third-Team All-American performance where he caught 90 balls for 1,402 yards and 10 touchdowns. The expectation is that he'll be able to take his performance up even another notch as he's been listed on multiple preseason First-Team All-American watchlists.
Head coach Brent Brennan said they are going to do what is best for McMillan, so easing him into practices throughout camp was always the plan. But now that he's starting to get closer to full contact action, it will be interesting to see how all the pieces fit in Dino Baber's new offense.
While the star has been out, though, it has allowed the Wildcats to get a better look at some of their other wide receivers on this roster.
Notably, transfer Jeremiah Patterson has put himself into position to have a major role with this team, something that might not have been discovered this quickly if McMillan was on the field for all of camp.
But now that their No. 1 guy is back, Arizona is able to see what this offense will look like.
Scheer said that quarterback Noah Fifita immediately targeted McMillan the first three possessions he was on the field and that "it looked like he did not miss any time." He also noted "his presence completely changes the offense," something that is exciting to hear as they move forward.
How quickly the Wildcats ramp up their star wide receiver will be seen, but having him back on the field for 11-on-11 work is a good sign that he will be ready to hit the ground running in Week 1.
BRAD WAKAI