Kini McMillan Has Got Game, Swagger As Husky QB

The freshman from Hawaii showed off some playmaking skills, plus a lot of confidence.

Kini McMillan looks for a target in the Spring Game. | Skylar Lin Visuals

Freshman John Mills might open the season as the starter at left guard on the University of Washington offensive line.

Wide receivers Raiden Vines-Bright and Dezmen Roebuck, plus safety Rylon "Batman" Dillard-Allen, are other first-year Huskies who have moved in and out of that conversation, as well.

Freshmen offensive guard Champ Taulealea, wide receivers Marcus Harris and Chris Lawson and edge rusher Devin Hyde likewise each have received a chance to run with the starters at times in the spring or fall.

So far, it looks like Jedd Fisch's coaching staff put together a high-end 2025 recruiting class with so many newcomers showing up ready to compete rather than just get automatically banished to the lower reaches of the depth chart.

Add Treston "Kini" McMillan from Mililani, Hawaii, to the list of freshmen showing a little something extra in the early stages of his UW quarterback career, too.

Kini McMillan gets loose during practice. | Skylar Lin Visuals

He probably won't play a down in a Husky game this season, but he's made people notice him in practice.

Similar to UW starter Demond Williams Jr., he's a certifiable dual-threat quarterback, comfortable whether standing in the pocket or taking off and scrambling to make something happen.

Different from the other three scholarship signal-callers in Montlake, who have their own confidence levels, McMillan plays with a discernible swagger. It's all in his body language, that Husky football just isn't too much for him.

He's also the guy who twice showed up for spring practice wearing earrings, drawing a stern admonishment for doing this multiple times, though it seemed to match his image.

Kini McMillan slips the ball to Jordan Washington in the Spring Game. | Skylar Lin Visuals

Quietly, he's leapfrogged fellow freshman Dash Beierly during fall camp in the UW quarterback pecking order, going out third to run the offense.

He's showed off a strong arm and the willingness to thread the ball through the tightest of windows to get it to a receiver.

In the UW Spring Game, McMillan drew plaudits for completing 4 of 10 passes for 73 yards and a 16-yard touchdown pass to Vines-Bright.

Even when he made a mistake that day, there was a certain amount of largesse to it, with safety Alex McLaughlin intercepting a McMillan pass at the goal line and returning it 80 yards before he was hauled down.

"I thought Kini McMillan did a really good job for the Gold team and making some throws in a game like that," said Jimmie Dougherty, UW offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, back in May. "All those are positives that we can definitely take away from the game."

Kini McMIllan has shown some swagger as a UW quarterback. | Skylar Lin Visuals

In the recent mock outing, McMillan rifled a 9-yard completion to walk-on wide receiver Jace Burton on his first play, overshot Burton with another throw and found freshman tight end Baron Naone with an 8-yard pass, and then gave way to Beierly.

Later, he threw a 10-yard pass to redshirt freshman receiver Justice Williams, had a ball caught by Naone that was nullified by penalty and watched freshman wideout Deji Ajose drop one of his passing attempts over the middle.

Always it seems like McMillan is on the verge of making something happen. When those days finally arrive for him for him, it should be fun to watch.

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