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Fifita threw passes to his longtime best friend and top receiving target, so the NFL visitors could observe McMillan’s route-running prowess and ball skills in person.

During the winter break, Fifita was back home in Huntington Beach, California, while McMillan, a projected top-10 pick in next month’s NFL Draft, trained in Phoenix. The formerly inseparable duo planned to “wing it on Monday,� but Fifita practiced with McMillan on Sunday to shake off the rust.

Fifita said it was “such a blessing to be back on the field� with McMillan, and the time away from each other “made you forget how good he really is.�

Added Fifita: “He’s such a special player. ... He never shies away from the pressure or shies away from the moment. Even with more than half the league there, he was still the same character, laughing and joking around. I’m excited to see what his future holds.�

Reality kicked in for Fifita during ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥â€™s first spring practice on Tuesday: McMillan isn’t his teammate for the first time since the seventh grade. They were teammates with the Orange County Buckeyes (youth football), Servite High School and ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥. They came to ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ as a package deal in 2022, but McMillan’s NFL aspirations and Fifita staying in ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ to right the wrongs from last season separated them.

When ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ kicked off its spring football schedule on Tuesday, not sharing the field and practice space with McMillan “felt different,â€� Fifita said.

“That will always be my brother and my best friend, so I definitely miss him out on the field,� Fifita said. “But I’m happy to see him doing bigger and better things.�

Replacing a generational talent like McMillan is a formidable task, especially when he made up 44% of ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥â€™s passing attack with 1,319 receiving yards. McMillan finished last season with 84 receptions. Former running back Quali Conley had the second-most receptions with 39.

Brent Brennan will always “chose to have (McMillan) on our team — and so would a bunch of NFL teams in the next month,â€� said the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ head coach. But ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ has “a lot of players in that room that can make plays,â€� Brennan added.

Redshirt junior Chris Hunter III emerged in the second half of last season and flashed brilliance with two acrobatic touchdowns against TCU in November. Additionally, the Wildcats added several transfers in “X� receiver Tre Spivey III (Kansas State) and slot receivers Luke Wysong (New Mexico), Kris Hutson (Washington State) and Javian Whatley (Chattanooga), who all combined for 193 catches for 2,380 yards and 10 touchdowns last season. The Wildcats also signed two promising high school prospects in Isaiah Mizell and in-state product Gio Richardson.

“I think we’ve added some guys who have real speed, which I think we were missing a year ago at that position,� Brennan said. “I think we answered that with how aggressively we attacked the portal in the offseason. I think it’s going to be a little bit more by committee. Of course, a few guys are going to emerge as big-time playmakers. Right now, one day in, who that’s going to be, we’re looking at a core group and we’re excited about what they can do.�

Fifita won’t be throwing passes to his buddy McMillan, but “the pieces we brought in, they’re outstanding,â€� said ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥â€™s quarterback.

“We have a long road to where we want to be, but we definitely have the pieces in place to do everything we want to do,� Fifita said. “You just go down the list with the guys we brought in and the guys we kept, we have some that can do everything and I’m extremely excited.�

The overhaul at receiver is a microcosm of ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥â€™s revamped roster. The Wildcats signed 53 scholarship newcomers in 2025, and 34 of them are practicing this spring. Some of the returners even changed numbers, including Fifita, who changed his jersey number from 11 to 1, the number he donned at Servite.

“I wanted to do it last year, but it didn’t feel like the right time,� Fifita said. “Now that we’re able to do it, I was excited to go back to the number I wore in high school and growing up.�

New number, new faces in the offense and a new play-caller in offensive coordinator Seth Doege, “it just felt different,� Fifita said after Tuesday’s practice.

“We have a lot to prove that it is different,� Fifita said. “From within, it feels a lot different from the energy, from the vibe and the people around. I’m really excited.�

The biggest difference in the offense: tempo, no-huddle and a sense of urgency, a stark contrast to the slow-developing plays under former play-callers Dino Babers and Matt Adkins — and the pro-style system under Jedd Fisch that sometimes required the quarterback to be under center.

“I’m not exactly used to that, but Coach Doege knows exactly what he’s doing,� Fifita said. “He’s had success everywhere he’s been. Up to this point, it’s been really good. We’re continuing to work, continuing to do everything we gotta do off the field to translate it on the field.�

The uptempo offense and no-huddle format “is going to be extremely advantageous,� Fifita said, because of the coach-to-player communication in Fifita’s helmet in between plays. The snappiness and intent also “takes the defensive coordinator out of it, being able to get on the line of scrimmage and play as fast as we can,� Fifita said.

“To be honest, it’s new for me, too, because I thought we played fast today, and Coach Doege was disappointed in our urgency and energy,� said Fifita. “Obviously a long way to where we want to be, but Coach Doege has shown that his system works and he knows exactly what he’s doing, so we’re going to follow him to the end of it. ... I’ve been blessed to have a lot of great offensive coordinators. I think where Coach Doege is different is his energy and mindset.

“He has a certain type of aura and energy around him that I probably haven’t seen before. It’s genuine and consistent. I felt it when he tried to recruit me and pitched me to stay and it hasn’t changed since. He has brought a mentality and mindset to this offense that’s very interesting and I think it’ll change the trajectory of this offense and team.�

Fifita and Doege spent “hours upon hours throughout the winter and these past couple of weeks, just trying to learn this offense,â€� per ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥â€™s quarterback.

“Let me tell you, it’s a great offense and a great scheme,� Fifita said. “Extremely fortunate to have him here. Fantastic coach, even better person and that sounds cliche, but it’s true when it comes to Coach Doege and we’re excited to have him lead us this year.�

Fifita, who anticipates becoming “more of a threat with my legs,� said Doege’s offense is designed for the UA quarterback to “play on time, play on rhythm,� which wasn’t the case last season when Fifita led college football in throwaways (37), according to Pro Football Focus. Fifita also led the Big 12 in interceptions (12) last season following a breakout season in 2023.

“I don’t want to play off-schedule as much as I did last year,� Fifita said. “Just getting the ball out of my hands and getting it to my guys and letting them play. Protecting the ball is the biggest thing. I didn’t do a good job of that last year and that’s something me and Coach Doege are diving into.�

Learning a third offensive system in four years “would be challenging for some quarterbacks, but the beauty of Noah Fifita is how intentional he is about being a great player,� Brennan said.

In addition to mastering the Air Raid-inspired offense, Doege and Brennan are also challenging the UA quarterback, who isn’t a “rah-rah guy,� to “get outta that shell a little and move into an individual role where I’m encouraging and helping others one-on-one,� Fifita said. Fifita has embraced “more of an assertive leadership role with this team,� Brennan said.

“It’s such a natural position for your quarterback to be in,� said Brennan. “He’s the one that gets either so much of the love or so much of the blame depending on how it goes, and I think that’s one of the things where Noah is finding his voice in a much more assertive way.�

Extra points

— Brennan said ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ left tackle Rhino Tapa’atoutai, who is recovering from a season-ending knee injury from last season, has emerged as “an incredible voiceâ€� and leader for the Wildcats. Said Brennan: “If you ask our strength and conditioning staff, he was the MVP of the offseason for those seven weeks. He embraced that role. He already has natural energy, has great charisma and he really leaned into that; the players leaned into it.â€� Brennan noted wide receiver Chris Hunter III, safety Dalton Johnson, defensive back Treydan Stukes, safety Genesis Smith and defensive end Tre Smith as other team leaders.

— Redshirt junior Grayson Stovall, Hawaii transfer Ka’ena Decambra and Portland State transfer Isaac Perez rotated at center on Tuesday. Stovall has been the backup to Josh Baker for the last three seasons. Decambra played right guard and tackle at Hawaii. Perez played left guard and center at Portland State.

— McMillan is projected by to land at No. 20 overall to the Denver Broncos. Kiper previously projected McMillan to go No. 22 to the Los Angeles Chargers.