The wide receiver class in the 2025 NFL Draft isn't quite up to the standard of some recent classes, but a few players have a chance to be special. Tetairoa McMillan is one of them.
The Arizona standout put together a strong season in 2024 despite the Wildcats' offense taking a step back under a new coaching staff, and his size could make for an easy transition to the NFL.
The fans of McMillan's new teams will have to learn how to pronounce his name first.
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Here's a guide to pronouncing "Tetairoa" and more about the origin of the name.
Tetairoa McMillan pronunciation
McMillan's first name is pronounced "teh-ty-ROH-uh." While some broadcasts pronounced it as "teh-teh-ROH-uh" during his college career, Ahmed Fareed revealed on NBC Sports' "Chris Simms Unbuttoned" podcast that McMillan prefers "teh-ty-ROH-uh" or simply "T-Mac."
Fareed said McMillan objected to "Tet" as a nickname, but the Arizona standout does go by "T-Mac" on some of his social media profiles.
McMillan also goes by the nickname, "Nalo," which is derived from the small community in Hawaii where he grew up.
McMillan was born in Hawaii and is of Polynesian descent. He was named Polynesian College Football Player of the Year after the 2024 season.
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Tetairoa McMillan stats
| Season | Games | Rec. | Yards | TD | Y/R |
| 2022 | 12 | 39 | 702 | 8 | 18.0 |
| 2023 | 13 | 90 | 1,402 | 10 | 15.6 |
| 2024 | 12 | 84 | 1,319 | 8 | 15.7 |
| Career | 38 | 213 | 3,423 | 26 | 16.1 |
McMillan is coming off a pair of monster seasons at Arizona, posting more than 1,300 yards in both 2023 and 2024.
Arizona's offense took an unexpected step back in 2024 despite Noah Fifita staying on at quarterback, but McMillan remained just as productive as he was in 2023 with 15.7 yards per catch. The towering receiver entered the offseason as the consensus top wide receiver in the draft, with the exception of two-way star Travis Hunter.
McMillan's stock seemed to slip just a bit in the leadup to the draft, and it might not have anything to do with his skills. The NFL has shifted more toward smaller, shifty receivers in recent years, with tall, strong receivers such as Mike Evans becoming more rare.
Still, Evans has impacted games at a high level for more than a decade, and there is no reason to believe McMillan can't do the same after putting up gaudy numbers under two different coaching staffs at Arizona.