Arizona Wildcats Have Two Players Among Top-50 Players With One Snub
The Arizona Wildcats football team is entering the season with more hype than they have in a long time, and big expectations are building for their star players.
As Pro Football Focus' Max Chadwick and Dalton Wasserman made their list of the Top 50 players of the college football season, two Wildcats made the cut. They might not be the duo that you would expect.
Wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan was the obvious one. Instead of quarterback Noah Fifita making the cut, it was cornerback Tacario Davis that made his way in.
Fifita had a great sophomore season where he passed for 2,869 yards with 25 touchdowns and six interceptions.
The quarterbacks that made it ahead of him were Georgia's Carson Beck, Oregon's Dillon Gabriel, Colorado's Shedeur Sanders, Texas' Quinn Ewers, Alabama's Jalen Milroe and Ole Miss' Jaxson Dart.
While it's not crazy that those six players made it ahead of Fifita, there is certainly an argument to be made for him to be in the Top 50 in one of the seven spots behind Dart.
He'll have his chance to prove himself with his top target back.
McMillan made the list at No. 15 overall. He was the second receiver to make the list behind Missouri's Luther Burden III.
"If the ball heads McMillan’s way, there’s a very good chance he is coming down with it. He presents a massive target to throw to at 6-foot-5, giving him a larger catch radius than anyone on this list," said PFF. "His 17 contested catches in 2023 were second among FBS receivers to only Rome Odunze."
He had 90 catches for 1,402 yards, good for No. 5 in the country, and 10 touchdowns.
Davis was the fourth cornerback in the list. He started as a defensive end but made the extremely rare transition to the boundary as a sophomore. He had 15 passes defensed with one interception last year.
The tall corner can bully smaller receivers while having the speed to keep up with better athletes as well.
"The first thing you notice about Davis is his freakish size at 6-foot-4. That length allows him to significantly bother receivers at the catch point," said the writers. "The sophomore posted a 27.8% forced incompletion rate in 2023, ranking fifth among Power Five cornerbacks. Davis forced more incompletions (14) in single coverage than he allowed catches (11)."
The Wildcats will have plenty of talent behind them as they try to make the most of their first season in the Big 12.
DYLAN SANDERS