BOULDER – A third of Colorado is covered in forest. Travis Hunter takes care of the rest.

So you can imagine the shock last November when Folsom Field got to see Arizona wideout Tetairoa McMillan up close for the first time. It was as if King Ghidorah turned right at Mt. Kurodake and decided to take a Flatirons vacation.

The Wildcats' junior receiver reportedly runs a 4.5-second 40-yard dash with a 6-foot-5, 212-pound frame. Essentially, covering McMillian is like trying to cover a Harrier jet in mid-flight.

“We don't want to give away the game plan, but we're going to do our best,” Buffs coach Deion Sanders said of McMillan, whose Wildcats face CU on Saturday afternoon at Arizona Stadium. “I mean, a lot of people did their best, but the kid is phenomenal. He is extraordinary.”

He's big. Really, really, really big. That adds another layer of intrigue to this weekend's first Big 12 matchup between the Buffs and Cats. Because McMillan is also one of the few college wideouts to ever give Hunter any trouble.

The big receiver and his QB Noah Fifita discovered that tiny weakness in Hunter's coverage at cornerback last year at the CU-UA tournament that was previously unexploited and hasn't played much of a role since – size.

One of the joys of watching Hunter smother half the field is that he assumes every ball in the air is his, and 99.8% of the time he's right. This applies to both offense (which is intended) and, more impressively, defense (which is not intended).

At 6-foot-1 and weighing 185 pounds, the Buffs' Heisman Trophy contender is hard to beat. Or to his left. Or to his right. Or over his shoulder. Or a lot of anywhere.

But standing next to a man four inches taller and 30 pounds heavier is a lot to ask, even for a premium top-five pick in the NFL Draft.

Realizing this, Fifita and McMillan developed a new tactic to throw at Hunter last fall: the jump ball.

It didn't always work. But it happened once about three minutes into the second half, when the Buffs were defending their 24-17 lead.

On first-and-goal from the CU 2, Fifita took a shotgun shot, backed into space, sat down and threw a rainbow into the back left corner of the end zone. McMillan strolled into the area and went one-on-one with Hunter.

The Arizona wideout used his left arm for separation, then jumped and extended his long right arm. With a smooth movement, McMillan held the ball at its highest point in his palm and rolled it back into his body, securing the ball before it could stumble out of bounds.

No writer in the Folsom press box had ever seen anyone make such a catch in the end zone in front of Hunter. And to be fair, no one has built anything like this since. You can expect NFL scouts to take very careful and detailed notes during the rematch.

As Coach Prime said, McMillan is one of the best in the country at what he does: a matchup nightmare. The Wildcats wideout finished with 107 yards on nine grabs that day against CU, the first of four straight games in which he eclipsed the century mark to end the season.

“That’s why he’s one of the best in the country,” Sanders continued. “And he has a quarterback (who is one of his best friends) who will find a way to get him the ball. It's a bit like what Shedeur (Sanders) and Travis (do). So it's going to be a task, man. But I'm pretty sure our guys will be ready for it. The boy is extraordinary.”

For all his natural gifts, Hunter is also a proud, hard-working technician with an insanely high football IQ. It's awfully hard to beat these guys the same way twice. Not that McMillan wouldn't try.

Originally published: October 18, 2024 at 11:23 am