With McMillan Balancing Act, Husky Circus Comes to Town

Check out Skylar Lin's latest gallery, one that shows off the extremely acrobatic wide receiver.

Dan Raley | Apr 16, 2023

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Washington Huskies

It anyone needs added proof this University of Washington football team is chock full of amazing athletes, one has to look no farther than Skylar Lin's cogent photo of an acrobatic Jalen McMillan spicing up Friday's stretching exercises.

With Ja'Lynn Polk looking on in amazement, the Husky wide receiver does a "helmet-stand" — an intricate balancing act using his protective headgear and hands, leaving McMillan upside down with his legs fully extended skyward.

Whatever you do, please don't try this at home.

Lin captured the Huskies' leading returning pass-catcher showing off his strength, flexibility and dexterity all at once as the Huskies conducted their stretching maneuvers early in practice.

For more images of McMillan performing his high-wire act in Husky Stadium, in sequence, plus his teammates and coaches shown in various practice interesting poses and expressions, check out Lin's accompanying photo gallery from Friday's short window for the media to document things.

Jalen McMillan shows off his flexibility and dexterity to teammate Ja'Lynn Polk, who was no doubt impressed.

The acrobatic Jalen McMillan pulls off his amazing feat during Husky stretching exercises on Friday in Husky Stadium.

Jalen McMillan lands on the Husky Stadium turf after impressing Ja'Lynn Polk with his athleticism.

WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY / Skylar Lin Visuals

Linebacker Ralen Goforth comes charging down the line to tackle a practice pad, working on form and technique.

Edge-rusher coach Eric Schmidt is all padded up as he awaits Bralen Trice, prepared to trade practice blows.

Zion Tupuola-Fetui shares a lighthearted moment with fellow edge rusher Maurice Heims in Husky Stadium.

Husky coach Kalen DeBoer wanders through his team performing stretching exercises early in practice.

Jack McCallister puts his foot into a practice punt as tight-ends coach Nick Sheridan and TEs Josh Cuevas (85) and Quentin Moore (88) look on.

GIVING IT SOME JUICE / Skylar Lin Visuals

DB coach Juice Brown appears to be good-naturedly challenging cornerback Davon Banks during a spring drill. Note the yellow injury vest tucked away by Banks.

HAND TO HAND COMBAT / Skylar Lin Visuals

Center Matteo Mele sticks a hand in the chest of offensive guard Julius Buelow during a practice drill.

If their NFL careers aren't exactly what they expect or desire, the UW wide-receiver corps of Rome Odunze, Polk and McMillan could certainly get work in the Ringling Brothers Circus. Alone or altogether. Big top or small.

Meantime, that Husky trio represents some of the most prolific receiving talent in college football, making for a highly competitive position battle among them and their back-ups for playing time this coming season.

"I keep telling them, the cost of admissions has gone up," UW wide-receiver coach JaMarcus Shephard said whimsically last week. "As prices rise, guess what, you better find a way to ante up, pay up, find whatever it takes to get to the cost of admission."

Odunze, if you remember, is a proficient juggler, last season turning a patty-cake catch against Arizona into an entertaining touchdown.

If your memory goes back two seasons, Polk, if you recall, is a death-defying athlete, or least one who doesn't let a little pain bother him. Against Montana on the first play of the 2021 season, the native Texan caught a pass over the middle, took a hit, didn't feel quite right but stayed in for a few more plays. Of course, he had suffered a broken collarbone that led to surgery a number of hours later that day.

With these three guys alone, the upcoming UW football season stands to be a fun one to watch, with these Huskies offering great physical feats and endless courage.

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Published Apr 16, 2023

DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.