Inside TCU football’s approach to slowing down Arizona receiver Tetairoa McMillan

It’s not often you face a receiver as gifted as Arizona’s Tetairoa McMillan.

When the Horned Frogs face the Wildcats at 2 p.m. Saturday, priority No. 1 for TCU will be finding a way to slow down a receiver that many think could change the outlook of one NFL franchise in the upcoming NFL draft.

Mock drafts project that McMillan will be at the top of the board with the likes of Colorado’s Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders and Miami’s Cam Ward. McMillan leads all Power Four receivers with 1,136 yards and he also has seven touchdowns.

McMillan stands at 6-foot-5 and has more than enough speed to run away from defenders. TCU coach Sonny Dykes doesn’t see many flaws in his game.

“He’s what you would get if you were going to design a receiver... he’s long, he can run, he’s got a huge catch radius,” Dykes said Tuesday. “I really think that’s the strongest characteristic that he’s got. His ability to make competitive plays on the ball, adjust to the ball. Somebody with his size doesn’t typically have that type of body control.”

So how will TCU match up with the country’s best receiver? That’s where transfer cornerback LaMareon ‘Scud’ James comes into the picture.

The Old Dominion transfer has emerged as the Horned Frogs’ most reliable option at cornerback this season. Even before injuries to Avery Helm and Vernon Glover, James was one of TCU’s top defensive backs in the off-season. This is the type of matchup James envisioned having when he entered the portal.

“I feel like I always belonged on this stage coming out of high school,” James said. “He’s got great ball skills, he can high point the ball. I’ve got to come out and play, but this is a corner’s dream to match up with one of the top receivers in the country.”

Listed at 5-foot-10, 190 pounds, James is about seven inches shorter and 20 pounds lighter than McMillan. It’s a size disadvantage for sure, but James has been preparing all season for receivers like McMillan.

During the preseason, he went out of his way to match up with TCU’s Savion Williams as often as possible. Williams is 6’5, 225 pounds, a near carbon copy of McMillan physically. James is hoping all those reps against TCU’s receivers in practice will pay off on Saturday.

“Going against (Jack) Bech everyday, Eric (McAlister), JP (Richardson) and Savion everyday... I feel like we have a good group of receivers,” James said. “They’re probably the top in the country, that prepares me a lot for Saturdays. It just makes me comfortable coming into the game because I know I go against those guys everyday. It helps me do well in the games on Saturday.”

James has posted a coverage grade of 72.3 according to Pro Football Focus, which puts him near the top-10 of the Big 12’s cornerbacks. James, a former receiver in high school, will have to use his own impressive ball skills to outduel McMillan when the ball is in the air.

But what about when Arizona moves him from out wide?

“Arizona does a really good job of moving him around,” Dykes said. “They’ll play him at all these different positions. You can’t really go in and say here’s what we’re going to do all the time like we’re going to (double) him because you’re going to look up and sometimes he’s going to be inside, sometimes he’s going to be outside.

“They just do a really good job of moving him around and making it hard for you to double him all the time. You’ve got to try and disrupt him and get him uncomfortable.”

TCU’s defensive scheme hasn’t seen James or any of the other corners shadowing receivers all over the field like you see in the NFL sometimes. That means even the safeties like Abe Camara and Bud Clark could find themselves matched up with McMillan and TCU has to win those individual battles to avoid McMillan going for 200 or 300 yards like he’s already done this season.

While the Horned Frogs won’t be able to double McMillan every possession, there is something TCU can do on each play that can throw off McMillan’s and the Wildcats’ rhythm on offense.

“To me, any time you face a really good receiver, the way you give him problems is to pressure the quarterback,” Dykes said. “You make the quarterback uncomfortable and don’t let him make a lot of rhythm throws and that’s really probably the best way to stop him or try to stop him.

“It’s very difficult to do, nobody’s really done it, but that’s going to be the plan.”

Colorado was the closest team to shutting McMillan down as he had just 38 yards against the Buffaloes. During that game Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita was sacked seven times, so there’s something to Dykes’ mindset.

The Horned Frogs are getting multiple defensive linemen back this week including edge rusher Cooper McDonald, so TCU has a chance to get after Fifita and the Arizona offensive line.

It’ll be an all hands on deck approach to slow McMillan from James in coverage to the defensive line applying constant pressure. It’s difficult to keep a player like McMillan in check, but it’s not impossible.