Tetairoa McMillan ( ; born April 5, 2003), nicknamed "T-Mac", is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

for the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Arizona Wildcats The Arizona Wildcats are the sport, athletic teams that represent the University of Arizona, located in Tucson, Arizona, Tucson. The Wildcats compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I (NCAA Divis ...

, earning Polynesian College Football Player of the Year honors in 2024. McMillan was selected by the Panthers eighth overall in the

2025 NFL draft The 2025 NFL draft was the 90th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players. The draft was held at Lambeau Field and its adjacent Titletown District in Green Bay, Wisconsin, on April 24–26, 2025 ...

Early life

McMillan was born on April 5, 2003, in

Waimānalo, Hawaii Waimānalo () is a census-designated place (CDP) in the District of Koolaupoko, in the Honolulu County, Hawaii, City & County of Honolulu, on the island of Oahu, Oahu, Hawaii, United States. This small windward community is located near the ea ...

, later moving with his family to

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

at the age of one. He attended

Servite High School Servite High School is a private, Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized ...

Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States, part of the Greater Los Angeles area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orang ...

. As a senior, he was a finalist for the

Gatorade Football Player of the Year The Gatorade Player of the Year awards are given annually to up and coming high school student-athletes in the United States. They are given for boys baseball, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls cross country, boys football, boys and girl ...

after he had 88 receptions for 1,302 yards and 18

touchdowns A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

. For his career, he had 179 receptions for 2,640 yards and 34 touchdowns. McMillan was selected to play in the 2022

All-American Bowl The All-American Bowl was an annual postseason college football bowl game played at Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama from 1977 to 1990. The game was known as the Hall of Fame Classic from 1977 to 1985. In 1986, the National Football Foundatio ...

. In 2021, McMillan also won the Polynesian High School Football Player of the Year Award. A five-star recruit, he originally committed to the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...

to play college football before flipping to the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...

, joining high school teammates Noah Fifita, Jacob Manu, and Keyan Burnett. McMillan was the highest rated recruit in the history of the school.

College career

McMillan earned immediate playing time his true freshman year at Arizona in

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

. In his collegiate debut, he had three receptions for 53 yards and a touchdown in the 38–20 victory over

San Diego State San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California, United States. Founded in 1897, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system. SDSU is ...

. On October 15 against

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

, he had seven catches for 132 yards and two touchdowns in the 49–39 loss. McMillan finished the season leading all true freshmen nationally with 702 receiving yards and eight touchdowns on 39 receptions. In

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

, McMillan had a breakout season with 90 receptions for 1,402 yards (fifth-most in the nation) and ten touchdowns over 13 games. He caught two touchdowns in a 31–24 loss to No. 7

and followed with a 141-yard performance against No. 9

USC USC may refer to: Education United States * Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, Santurce, Puerto Rico * University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina ** University of South Carolina System, a state university system of South Carolina * ...

. In a 42–18 win over No. 22

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

, McMillan had 116 receiving yards, a touchdown, and threw his first career touchdown pass. Against

Arizona State Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is one of the largest ...

, he caught 11 passes for 266 yards and two touchdowns, setting a new

Territorial Cup A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, belonging or connected to a particular country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually a geographic area which has not been granted the powers of self-government, ...

receiving yards record as the Wildcats won 59–23. He was named a third-team AP

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

at the end of the regular season. In the 2023 Alamo Bowl against No. 12

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

, McMillan had ten receptions for 160 yards for Arizona as they won 38–24, finishing the season on a seven-game winning streak. After head coach Jedd Fisch left Arizona to take the

head coaching job, McMillan elected to remain at Arizona for the 2024 season. Prior to the season, McMillan was named a preseason first-team AP All-American and was a projected first-round pick in the

. In the Wildcats' opening game of the 2024 season against

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

, McMillan caught ten passes for a school-record 304 yards and tied the school record with four touchdown catches in a 61–39 victory. Two weeks later, he posted a career-high 11 receptions for 138 yards in a loss to No. 14

Kansas State Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public inst ...

. In a loss to

West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...

, he finished with ten receptions for 202 yards and a touchdown. He finished the season third in the nation with 1,319 yards on 84 receptions and was named a 2024 Consensus All-American. He was also a finalist for the

Fred Biletnikoff Award The Fred Biletnikoff Award is presented annually to the most outstanding receiver in American college football by the Tallahassee Quarterback Club Foundation, Inc. (TQCF), an independent not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization. The award was creat ...

, losing to

Travis Hunter Travis Hunter Jr. (born May 18, 2003) is an American professional football cornerback and wide receiver for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Jackson State Tigers and Colorado B ...

. Following his junior season, McMillan declared for the 2025 NFL draft, finishing his college career with 213 receptions, 3,423 receiving yards, and 26 touchdowns in three seasons. His 3,423 yards are the most in Wildcats program history, and his receptions and touchdowns rank in the top five in school history.

College statistics

Professional career

McMillan was selected in the first round with the eighth overall pick by the

in the

. He became the highest-selected offensive player in Arizona Wildcats history and tied for the second-highest pick overall in the program’s history, behind Ricky Hunley. On May 9, McMillan signed his four-year, $27.93 million rookie contract with the Panthers.

Personal life

McMillan is of

Native Hawaiian Native Hawaiians (also known as Indigenous Hawaiians, Kānaka Maoli, Aboriginal Hawaiians, or simply Hawaiians; , , , and ) are the Indigenous peoples of Oceania, Indigenous Polynesians, Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands. Hawaiʻi was set ...

descent.

References

External links

*
Carolina Panthers profile

Arizona Wildcats profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:McMillan, Tetairoa 2003 births Living people American football wide receivers Players of American football from Anaheim, California Players of American football from Honolulu County, Hawaii Servite High School alumni Pacific Islander American players of American football Native Hawaiian sportspeople All-American college football players Arizona Wildcats football players Carolina Panthers players