Washington Huskies head coach Jedd Fisch was extremely proactive in lining up a succession plan for the team upon his arrival, with the Michael Penix Jr. era coming to an end. He convinced Mississippi State transfer Will Rogers to stay with the team after the fifth-year senior committed to Kalen DeBoer’s staff and brought in former four-star recruit Demond Williams Jr. to solidify the long-term outlook at the position.
Both moves paid off immediately, as Rogers has helped stabilize a team facing an incredible amount of turnover while Williams starred in spring camp, securing the backup spot while also reassuring offensive coordinator Brennan Carroll that the team doesn’t need to worry about the position for at least the next three seasons.
The issue at this point is the lack of depth behind Williams and Rogers. The team dealt with some transfer portal attrition but made sure to bring in reinforcements in the form of former North Colorado signal caller Shea Kuykendall to provide extra depth.
Recruiting was another area where the team was active in looking for a quarterback. With Rogers likely departing after this season, getting a player who could potentially push Williams and back him up was key. After adding Mater Dei quarterback Dash Beierly, the Huskies earned a commitment from one of the top players in Hawaii, Treston Kini McMillan, giving the 2025 class two signal callers.
Hawaii has become a fertile ground for quarterback recruits, with players like Marcus Mariota, Tua Tagovailoa, and Dillon Gabriel coming from the state in recent years.
The Huskies will be hoping that Kini McMillan, who will compete alongside Beierly, can follow a similar track to those players and become a star if Williams isn’t able to continue his development in the coming years.
For many coaching staffs across the country, it’s very easy to pass over quarterbacks because they don’t fit the traditional height thresholds that are set for quarterbacks. However, digging deeper into quarterbacks who don’t fit into those thresholds has paid off for Fisch.
In 2023, he oversaw the emergence of Noah Fifita at Arizona, and now, he’s turned his attention to Kini McMillan, who is listed at 5-foot-10 but possesses many exciting tools that any coach would be excited about.
Kini McMillan is able to throw an excellent fastball when needed. He’s very willing to rip it across the middle and insert passes into extremely tight windows. While he has impressive velocity, it’s just as valuable for a quarterback to be able to take the heat off of some throws and layer the ball over defenders or along the sideline, something he also does extremely well.
Carroll knows that Arizona’s offense last season was able to thrive when Fifita went off-schedule and made plays. This is arguably Kini McMillan’s biggest strength, as he is an excellent athlete with good explosiveness and speed.
However, he can run a little recklessly at times and will need to learn to get down and not take hits, especially at his size.
Heading into college, his height will be his biggest concern. At the college level, he will be playing with much taller offensive lineman, so being able to effectively read the middle of the field could become a challenge at times.
Luckily, he does have a solid arm, but generating torque can come at the expense of a longer release, which can hinder throwing lanes for some quarterbacks.
The bigger keys to success for Kini McMillan will be adapting to a more complex offense and staying in structure more often. He tends to get jumpy in the pocket and, at the college level, could try to play hero ball too much.
All of that said, having a player with Kini McMillan’s skillset alongside Beierly as potential backup plans to the extremely talented Williams should excite quarterbacks coach Jimmie Dougherty.