Pair of Wildcats named 247Sports Preseason Freshman All-Americans
Aug 20, 2022, 6:57 AM
Head coach Jedd Fisch of the Arizona Wildcats reacts on the sidelines during the Arizona Spring game at Arizona Stadium on April 24, 2021 in Tucson, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
Arizona Wildcats football head coach Jedd Fisch has done an excellent job recruiting, and a few of his signees from this year’s freshman class are expected to perform right away.
247Sports released its list of preseason freshman All-Americans this week, and two Wildcats made the cut.
First up, Tetairoa McMillan was one of three wideouts to get the call. McMillan was ranked by 247Sports as the No. 51 player in the 2022 recruiting class and the fifth-best wide receiver.
At 6-foot-4 and 185 pounds, McMillan comes out of Servite High School in Anaheim. He also played basketball and volleyball in high school, which obviously is where some leaping ability was displayed that he can put to use on the football field in Tucson.
Writes 247Sports’ Chris Hummer:
Tetairoa McMillan looks to be a budding superstar. The top-ranked signee in Wildcats history, McMillan enrolled early and was instantly the most talented receiver in what is a deep room. McMillan is going to start and will be a favored target for new Wildcats QB Jayden de Laura. He’s already a face of the program, too. Arizona made McMillan available to the media right away during fall camp. That’s a rare thing for a true freshman.
The second Arizona honoree is offensive lineman Jonah Savaiinaea, a three-star recruit who was ranked by 247Sports as the 27th best interior offensive lineman in his recruiting class.
Savaiinaea is an offensive guard from Honolulu who attended St. Louis High School.
Before the Wildcats even began spring ball, Fisch told 247Sports he was super excited about Savailnaea. The Hawaii native made that strong of an impression during offseason workouts.
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Fisch’s 2022 class checked in at 22nd on 247Sports’ national rankings and third in the Pac-12, a remarkable achievement considering Arizona has won only one game since mid-October 2019.
The Wildcats went 1-11 in Fisch’s first season as head coach last year, and while expectations are higher this season, most over/under win totals range around 2.5 as those recruits start to actually fill out the program.
Fisch’s offense will certainly get a boost from the Washington State transfer de Laura, last year’s Pac-12 Offensive Freshman of the Year who won the starting role to begin this season.
