Young Arizona Wide Receiver Learning From Hardworking Superstar To Improve
There are two games left in the regular season for the Arizona Wildcats, and if they don't win both of them, they will not be competing in a bowl game.
While that would mark an end to a disappointing campaign based on what was expected out of this group, it would also likely mark the end to one of the best careers in program history.
It's wildly expected that Tetairoa McMillan will enter his name in the upcoming NFL draft this year where he's projected to be a surefire first-round pick with a potential to be selected in the top 10.
When he breaks the all-time receiving yards record at some point during the final two contests of the season, that will put a stamp on what he's been able to accomplish from a personal standpoint in Tucson, while also being a major factor in this program getting turned around.
If Brent Brennan is able to get things on track next year and beyond, his legacy could be cemented as one of the most important players who ever committed to Arizona based on the state of this team before he arrived.
McMillan's presence might also be felt when he's gone by the players who are learning from him.
Redshirt sophomore wide receiver Chris Hunter has burst onto the scene these past two weeks with seven catches for 102 yards against UCF and six for 65 against Houston.
After only playing in five games during his first two seasons with the Wildcats and not recording a single stat, he has quietly become the second-leading receiver on this team behind McMillan.
Hunter has benefitted from lining up on the other side of the superstar who is semifinalist for the Biletnikoff Award and haunts defensive coordinators whenever they are preparing for Arizona, but he's also benefiting from taking advantage of having McMillan as his teammate, using this time to learn about how he can improve.
"He might be one of the hardest practice players I've seen. I just try to replicate that myself. He is constantly working trying to learn new techniques and new things. You might catch me talking to him and chatting him up. I just did it today figuring out what to do, what he does, what technique he uses against the press in the boundary. That's the best receiver in the nation. He brings everybody up and he has such great energy. I try to learn as much as I can from him. I am asking him things all the time trying to steal techniques and learning the small details he does that gets him separation when he runs his routes," he said per Jason Scheer of 247Sports.
That's the smart thing to do.
Hunter seems to have a bright future ahead of him with the Wildcats.
If he can take what he's seen and learned from McMillan and apply it to his game going forward, that should only help him take the next step in his career.
