McMillan Should Feel Right at Home in DeBoer Offense
Jalen McMillan felt he had to leave his Central California home to become a great college football player.
Back then, he never would have guessed that Fresno would come to him to help make this happen.
As McMillan enters his third season at the University of Washington, that's exactly what's taken place for this 6-foot-1, 182-pound wide receiver from the sprawling San Joaquin Valley.
He now has his third Husky football coach after being recruited by Chris Petersen, suiting up for Jimmy Lake and ending up with Kalen DeBoer, the latter hired away from Fresno State.
This might sound harsh but no matter what McMillan did as one of the nation's top high school recruits in 2019, he wasn't going to find continuity or stability at the next level.
From 25 offers, he narrowed his football finalists to Notre Dame, Oklahoma, USC and Washington — and each school underwent a coaching change after he joined the college ranks. The Huskies did this twice.
If McMillan doesn't know this by now, home is where his heart is, even if his hands are in Seattle. After strongly considering his options following DeBoer's hiring, he decided to hang tough with the former Fresno State coach and continue playing for Huskies.
"This team means so much to me," McMillan said on Twitter on Jan. 6. "We really are a group of brothers. The adversity we have faced is only a stepping stone in our success as a whole and as individuals. I meant what I said on June 25th, 2019. And I'm going to stand on that. I'm excited about this team, offense, and Coach DeBoer. Let's ride."
If all goes as planned, DeBoer's high-powered offense should highlight McMillan more than anything Petersen or Lake could have provided him.
The fun should come in seeing who among Rome Odunze, Ja'Lynn Polk and McMillan runs up the most stats in what could be a healthy and highly competitive situation.
Each one of these players was singled out by new offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb as the best fit for what the staff is trying to do in moving the football. They're players who potentially can stretch the field in a big way.
Yet besides having a Husky offense that better matches his skills, McMillan could stand to have more luck.
He was slowed by a high ankle sprain at the end of his true freshman season in 2020 and last fall suffered a hand injury that required surgery and kept him out of the opener against Montana and out of the starting lineup until the third week.
Even this past spring practice, he was seated in the Dempsey Center with an ankle injury midway through, receiving treatment while his teammates went on without him.
McMillan is such a versatile athlete his Fresno baseball coaches felt he could have been a professional player, and he was speedy enough to have become a collegiate track man.
Football has his full attention. He comes off a somewhat underutilized season in which he finished with 39 catches for a team-best 470 yards plus 3 touchdowns, all numbers that could easily double or increase even more in DeBoer's newly installed Husky offense. He should have more performances such as his Arkansas State outing in which he caught 10 passes for 175 yards and a score.
One online outlet listed him as the nation's 26th best receiver. He most assuredly has something snarky to say on social media when a list appears without naming him or Odunze.
McMillan and DeBoer have known each other for some time now, since the latter began recruiting him for a Jeff Tedford-run program at Fresno State. The pass-catcher emerged from Fresno's San Joaquin Memorial High School with enormous numbers of 260 receptions for 5,234 yards and 54 scores.
Seattle might finally look like home to him when DeBoer puts the ball in the air ... and McMillan continually runs under it.
UW SECOND WR DEPTH
1) Jalen McMillan, 6-1, 182, Soph., Fresno, Calif.
2) Lonyatta Alexander Jr., 6-1, 210, R-Fresh., Auburn, Wash. (Arizona State)
3) Denzel Boston, 6-3, 202, Fresh., South Hill, Wash.
Conclusion: McMillan should be headed for a coming-out party after being muffled or wounded for a couple of seasons. DeBoer certainly will make it a priority to get the ball in his hands as much as possible. The only real question could be is how long will they hit their home runs? Fifty, 60 or 70 yards? Redshirt freshman Lonyatta Alexander Jr., returning home after spending a season at Arizona State, demonstrated in spring practice that he can play at this level and he's ready to help right away. True freshman Denzel Boston brings advantageous size to the competition as he gets acclimated as a newcomer.
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