Kini McMillan Not Lacking Confidence, Just Some Accuracy

UW Roster Review: The young dual-threat quarterback has swagger, but is still working on his passing.

Kini McMillan surveys the field for a Spring Game receiver. | Dave Sizer photo

As the University of Washington's third-team quarterback, Treston "Kini" McMillan often didn't take team snaps until late in the afternoon in spring practice.

It could be worth the wait. You never knew what this overly confident 5-foot-11, 213-pound redshirt freshman from Mililani, Hawaii might stir up.

Such was the case during the final Saturday scrimmage in late April when McMillan kept the ball, ran for 8 yards, got popped by safety Paul Mencke Jr. and jumped to his feet, as if to show him he could take it.

Three plays later, he threw an incomplete pass, but got into a shoving match with sophomore edge rusher Devin Hyde.

McMillan might not have topped the Huskies in pass completion percentage over those 15 practices, but he led them in swagger.

Kini McMillan fakes to his running back Ryken Moon. | Dave Sizer photo

The Huskies' next move with him is to polish the rough edges to match his confidence levels.

"We're trying to get this young Kini, kick him outside to the other side of the lake so he can't return, and get this new improved Kini and that should happen by the fall," Husky quarterbacks coach JP Losman said.

Kini McMillan breaks into the open during the Spring Game. | Dave Sizer photo

This is one in a series of articles -- going from 0 to 99 on the Husky roster -- examining what each scholarship player and leading walk-on did in spring practice and what to expect from them going into fall camp.

Typical of McMillan's performance was he threw the longest touchdown pass of the spring, one that covered 50 yards and went through the hands of cornerback Elias Johnson and into those of freshman receiver Trez Davis.

Elijah Brown and Kini McMillan move from drill to drill at spring ball. | Dave Sizer photo

He later encountered an inaccurate spring stretch in which he completed just one of 11 passes in team play over three practices.

In the Spring Game, McMillan likewise was off target through the air, hitting on only 2 of 10 throws.

Yet he led the Purple side on a 15-play, 75-yard drive -- the only long-distance offense of the spring finale -- for Julian McMahan's 1-yard touchdown run. McMillan kept things alive by running five times for 29 yards and converting three fourth downs on that possession.

He's a dual-threat quarterback who is only a single threat at the moment. Losman is working on that.

What he's done: His Husky career on game day consists of all of two snaps leading to a pair of handoffs at the end of the LA Bowl before he turned the team over to then fellow freshman QB Dash Beierly for the final play. So it's not much. He had over-the-top stats as a high school senior: 3,521 yards and 42 touchdowns passing and 575 yards and 11 TDs rushing.

Starter or not: McMillan certainly believes he can be the No. 1 QB once Demond Williams Jr. vacates the job, but he needs to work on being a better passer. He probably shouldn't shove too many edge rushers either.