Arizona Wildcats 2025 Wide Receiver Preview

Arizona will look to find ways to replace the production of Tetairoa McMillan

Nov 30, 2024; Tucson, Arizona, USA; Arizona Wildcats wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan (4) celebrates a touchdown with teammate Chris Hunter (16) against the Arizona State Sun Devils in the second half during the Territorial Cup at Arizona Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

It will not be easy for Arizona to replace the production of Tetairoa McMillan who leaves Tucson holding a number of school records before he was drafted with the No. 8 overall pick back in April by the Carolina Panthers.

You can’t realistically replace McMillan straight-up, the Wildcats do appear to be entering this season with a deeper wide receiver room to catch passes from QB Noah Fifita. 

The leading returning receiver is junior Chris Hunter. The Wildcats did not have a consistent No. 2 wide receiver last season behind McMillan for most of the year until Hunter stepped into that role for Fifita over the final month of the season.

Hunter posted his first career 100-yard game against UCF with 102 yards on seven receptions before he hauled in six passes the next week and caught two touchdowns the following game. It was that three-game stretch in the final month when Hunter established himself as a key piece of Arizona’s wide receiver room who was expected to return this season. 

The coaching staff and new offensive coordinator Seth Doege attacked the transfer portal hard this offseason to address the wide receiver room. The staff wound up bringing in Kris Hutson from Washington State, Javin Whatley from Chattanooga, Tre Spivey III from Kansas State and Luke Wysong from New Mexico. 

Hutson spent the first part of his collegiate career at Oregon before he transferred to Washington State last season where he hauled in 54 passes for 683 yards with two touchdowns. He was second on the team in receptions and receiving yards behind Kyle Williams who was a third-round pick in April. 

Whatley spent his first three years in college at Chattanooga. He exploded for career-highs in receiving yards (977) and touchdowns (nine) two years ago on 55 receptions. He still caught just as many passes last year with 56 catches which resulted in 697 yards with six touchdowns. 

Spivey played a very limited role at Kansas State, appearing in 12 games last season. He hauled in 14 passes for 160 yards and one touchdown. Spivey returns back to his home state after growing up in Chandler and going to Hamilton high school. 

Arizona saw Wysong and New Mexico first hand last season as the now senior receiver caught eight passes for 129 yards and a touchdown. He went on to have a career season, hauling in 69 passes for 840 yards.

One other notable returning receiver is Brandon Phillips who went on to redshirt his freshman season last year after committing to the Wildcats as a three-star receiver out of American Leadership Academy Gilbert North High School over in Gilbert, Arizona. 

Despite the loss of McMillan, which is huge, this year’s wide receiver room is shaping up to be significantly deeper top-to-bottom which bodes well for Fifita, Doege and head coach Brent Brennan. 

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