Name: TJ McMillen
Position: OC
High School: Wheaton St. Francis
Graduation Year: 2023
Height: 6-foot-3
Weight: 270 pounds
Recruiting Status: Uncommitted
Video Link:
My impressions of TJ McMillen:
It seems that I've been watching and have gotten to know TJ McMillen since he was in grade school. McMillen, the son of former XFL Hall of Fame player/coach and current St. Francis head coach Bob McMillen has been on the recruiting circuit since his freshman year at St. Francis. McMillen, who to this day remains a very good overall multi-sport athlete (football/basketball/baseball) comes from a football family with a track record of success (older brother Bobby McMillen Iowa State grad and is now an assistant coach at New Mexico State) on and off the field. TJ McMillen early on in his recruiting process was drawing various recruiting looks and attention as both an inside offensive linemen along with getting looks at defensive tackle/nose, yet it seems that nearly every school who has extended him an offer like him best at center. I've been able to watch TJ McMillen live in game action along with seeing him multiple times at various camps/showcase events.
Evaluation of TJ McMillen:
TJ McMillen has been an extremely productive high school player at the varsity level since his freshman season and has been a mainstay on both sides of the football as well. McMillen has a terrific mix of really good feet/quickness and the ability to pull and get out of the blocks quickly then get to the second level was impressive. McMillen also knows where the weight room is and has consistently added good weight and muscle over the past few seasons. McMillen is impressive with his hand usage and is also consistent in using proper hand placement and is well schooled in hand fighting. McMillen no question is very fundamentally sound along with having a consistently impressive non stop motor. McMillen also has very good balance, really strong first few steps and explodes out of his stance and can get to the next level blocks . McMillen also knows, understands and has impressive bend and maintains really good leverage. McMillen plays with a chip, knows when to turn the switch on and watching him at various camps and showcase events was fun. McMillen always challenged the best players at those camps, won basically all of his reps and just seemed to get better and better with every rep. Challenge this kid in a one on one and get ready for some fireworks, plus McMillen also just never seemed to get enough work and was always looking for more reps. Again his overall knowledge level whether playing on the offensive or defensive line is very high....and is exactly what you'd expect from a coaches kid. I have no doubt that TJ McMillen loves football and plays like it every time I've seen him live. His overall football IQ will no question serve him extremely well at the Power 5 level and I look for McMillen to challenge very early for playing time and to become a longer term mainstay in any starting offensive line rotation.
Room for improvement?
TJ McMillen is for the most part college ready physically and besides the usual year in and year out improvements (add more muscle/improve endurance work/improve on fundamentals etc) McMillen is pretty much ready to go in my opinion. McMillen will need to continue to find ways to challenge himself year round and find ways to keep getting better. McMillen as an offensive center he will get ranked lower than many bigger bodied kids in his class unfortunately....again the overall demand for a center versus a bigger body is lower and in less demand from college coaches at every level. Yet I see TJ McMillen in the same vein as the many top tier State of Illinois bred centers (Allen brothers/Jimmy Liston) as players who regardless of height or frame will force their way onto the field and will remain on the field at the high college level. Heart and desire can't be equated unless you truly get to know and get an up close look at a player....and I feel really good about TJ McMillen's desire, heart and work ethic at the college level.
Projected level:
TJ McMillen is already holding multiple Power 5 and FBS level scholarship offers so far this winter. I look for McMillen to wind up playing at the Power 5 level in college.
Rivals.com Ranking:
EDGYTIM Recommended Initial Rankings:
Low to Mid Four Star
I'm going to guess that my initial ranking on TJ McMillen is considerably higher than most others....and I'm more than Ok with that here for McMillen. TJ McMillen has all the tools, attributes and mentality and approach to develop into a top notch player at the Power 5 level. McMillen no question still has a ton of work ahead of him on several levels, yet this kid has never backed down from anything for as long as I've known him.
Position: OC
High School: Wheaton St. Francis
Graduation Year: 2023
Height: 6-foot-3
Weight: 270 pounds
Recruiting Status: Uncommitted
Video Link:
My impressions of TJ McMillen:
It seems that I've been watching and have gotten to know TJ McMillen since he was in grade school. McMillen, the son of former XFL Hall of Fame player/coach and current St. Francis head coach Bob McMillen has been on the recruiting circuit since his freshman year at St. Francis. McMillen, who to this day remains a very good overall multi-sport athlete (football/basketball/baseball) comes from a football family with a track record of success (older brother Bobby McMillen Iowa State grad and is now an assistant coach at New Mexico State) on and off the field. TJ McMillen early on in his recruiting process was drawing various recruiting looks and attention as both an inside offensive linemen along with getting looks at defensive tackle/nose, yet it seems that nearly every school who has extended him an offer like him best at center. I've been able to watch TJ McMillen live in game action along with seeing him multiple times at various camps/showcase events.
Evaluation of TJ McMillen:
TJ McMillen has been an extremely productive high school player at the varsity level since his freshman season and has been a mainstay on both sides of the football as well. McMillen has a terrific mix of really good feet/quickness and the ability to pull and get out of the blocks quickly then get to the second level was impressive. McMillen also knows where the weight room is and has consistently added good weight and muscle over the past few seasons. McMillen is impressive with his hand usage and is also consistent in using proper hand placement and is well schooled in hand fighting. McMillen no question is very fundamentally sound along with having a consistently impressive non stop motor. McMillen also has very good balance, really strong first few steps and explodes out of his stance and can get to the next level blocks . McMillen also knows, understands and has impressive bend and maintains really good leverage. McMillen plays with a chip, knows when to turn the switch on and watching him at various camps and showcase events was fun. McMillen always challenged the best players at those camps, won basically all of his reps and just seemed to get better and better with every rep. Challenge this kid in a one on one and get ready for some fireworks, plus McMillen also just never seemed to get enough work and was always looking for more reps. Again his overall knowledge level whether playing on the offensive or defensive line is very high....and is exactly what you'd expect from a coaches kid. I have no doubt that TJ McMillen loves football and plays like it every time I've seen him live. His overall football IQ will no question serve him extremely well at the Power 5 level and I look for McMillen to challenge very early for playing time and to become a longer term mainstay in any starting offensive line rotation.
Room for improvement?
TJ McMillen is for the most part college ready physically and besides the usual year in and year out improvements (add more muscle/improve endurance work/improve on fundamentals etc) McMillen is pretty much ready to go in my opinion. McMillen will need to continue to find ways to challenge himself year round and find ways to keep getting better. McMillen as an offensive center he will get ranked lower than many bigger bodied kids in his class unfortunately....again the overall demand for a center versus a bigger body is lower and in less demand from college coaches at every level. Yet I see TJ McMillen in the same vein as the many top tier State of Illinois bred centers (Allen brothers/Jimmy Liston) as players who regardless of height or frame will force their way onto the field and will remain on the field at the high college level. Heart and desire can't be equated unless you truly get to know and get an up close look at a player....and I feel really good about TJ McMillen's desire, heart and work ethic at the college level.
Projected level:
TJ McMillen is already holding multiple Power 5 and FBS level scholarship offers so far this winter. I look for McMillen to wind up playing at the Power 5 level in college.
Rivals.com Ranking:
EDGYTIM Recommended Initial Rankings:
Low to Mid Four Star
I'm going to guess that my initial ranking on TJ McMillen is considerably higher than most others....and I'm more than Ok with that here for McMillen. TJ McMillen has all the tools, attributes and mentality and approach to develop into a top notch player at the Power 5 level. McMillen no question still has a ton of work ahead of him on several levels, yet this kid has never backed down from anything for as long as I've known him.
