Inside The Huskies

Ex-UW Stalwarts McMillan, Odunze Each Have 2-TD NFL Outing

The one-time Husky wide receivers provide their most productive pro football performances.

Dan Raley

Tampa Bay Bucs receiver Jalen McMillan, the former Husky, high-steps into the end zone with one of his two scores against Las Vegas.
Tampa Bay Bucs receiver Jalen McMillan, the former Husky, high-steps into the end zone with one of his two scores against Las Vegas. / Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

On the same day college football unveiled its new and widely discussed 12-team playoff bracket, remnants of the University of Washington's national runner-up team on Sunday reminded everyone why those Huskies were so good.

Former Montlake teammates Jalen McMillan and Rome Odunze, both NFL rookies and playing coast to coast, each caught two touchdown passes for their new teams in their finest outings yet at the next level.

The 6-foot-1, 192-pound McMillan hauled in the first and final scores in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' 28-13 victory at home over the Las Vegas Raiders.

Meantime, Odunze, playing in San Francisco, came up with a pair of second-half TD receptions in the Chicago Bears' 38-13 loss to the 49ers on the road.

McMillan, who turned 23 on Saturday, opened the scoring against the Raiders by slipping between a pair of defenders to pull in a 15-yard TD catch from Baker Mayfield with 8:07 played in the game.

In a one-score game, McMillan caught a screen pass and zipped 29 yards to the end zone with just 1:56 left to play, high-stepping over the goal line, to wrap up the game.

He finished with 4 catches for 59 yards and those two scores for his 7-6 Bucs team.

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"As a rookie it is so hard to be consistent and we all know what he is capable of -- the big plays, the great routes, snatching the ball," said tight end Cade Otton, McMillan's UW and Tampa Bay teammate. "I think as the year has gone on, he has gotten more consistent, and I think that the game is slowing down for him. I think he has built more confidence, and it has been awesome to see the growth from him. He is so smooth."

In the Bay Area, Odunze played well enough while his Bears did not. He got into the end zone with a 4-yard scoring pass in the third quarter and added a 14-yard TD catch in the final period.

He finished with 4 receptions for 42 yards and his pair of trips to the end zone for a 4-9 Chicago team.

Even with the game out of hand, Odunze wowed the crowd with his acrobatic first scoring catch, in which he got to the very back of the end zone, extended his legs to make the grab and then pulled them back in to get both feet in bounds.

Playing in in just 9 of the Bucs' 13 games because of a hamstring injury, McMillan looks healthy now. On the season, he has 17 catches for 34 yards and 3 scores.

Appearing in all 13 games for Chicago, Odunze upped his season totals to 45 catches for 585 yards and 3 TDs, remaining a bright spot in a dismal Chicago season.

For the latest UW football and basketball news, go to si.com/college/washington

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Dan Raley
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.

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