Kassidy Hill

CHARLOTTETetairoa McMillanalmost missed the call, the call which would change his life.

Surrounded by family, friends, and agents, the Arizona wide receiver was standing around the booth assigned to him in the green room at the 2025 NFL Draft. His mom, Shawny Dutro, had been watching the cell phone lying on the table like a hawk. But the group got caught in a conversation for a moment that stretched almost too long.

Then Dutro glanced down. The phone was ringing but was heading towards voicemail, so TMacas he likes to be knownsnatched it up just in time.

Panthers general manager Dan Morgan was on the other end, with the news the Carolina Panthers were about to draft McMillan at No. 8 overall. His assembled guests quickly donned the Panthers draft hats, and for the first time, it started to hit McMillan as he was heading to the NFL.

As Kealamauloa Alcon's "Thank You Lord" played over the 200,000-plus in attendance in Green Bay, McMillan walked across the stage to commissioner Roger Goodell, the opening line, "Today's the day I'll rise up and say, today's the day when my life will change," befitting the moment.

"It just feels surreal, and I'm just, you know, super grateful and super blessed just to be in the position I am in," effused McMillan.

A fortuitously placed NFL PR representative grabbed McMillan as he walked off the stage and informed him, as a Charlotte native, to use the reference "Uptown," not downtown. From there, the receiver was off to the races, spending almost two hours meeting with various media outlets, social accounts, and network interviews, all the fanfare necessary for a Top 10 pick.

He stopped by the Verizon booth for a FaceTime call with his college quarterback, Noah Fifita, who reminded him daily to chase "great, not good." There was a stop in the NFL booth for a surprise Zoom call with his college teammates and coaches. The televisions peppered throughout drew his attention at one point as he watched safety Malaki Starks get drafted.

"Oh, to Ravens too, that's a good spot for him," McMillan mused as someone who knows how to watch and evaluate defensive backs.

With that in mind, when asked in one booth which NFL corner he was most looking to "Moss," McMillan quickly answered, "Well, since we're going to be going against each other in practice, it'sJaycee Horn."

But for all the frenetic activity, there were also small moments of quiet, which spoke to the meaning of the weekend for him and his family.

Dutro fussed with seven palm leis, fanning them out over the front seat of the private jet preparing to take off from Green Bay and deliver McMillan to Charlotte Friday morning.

"They just need to dry out a bit," she said before TMac explained further, "They can last for up to two weeks if you freeze them," and these had been in the freezer until it was time to leave Friday morning. The beautifully intricate leis were made by McMillan's grandmother Blanche a week prior at her home in Waimnalo, Hawaii. His dad brought them to the mainland in time to make the trip to Green Bay, and the family had been carefully preserving them the whole time.

They were made for coaches and owners of whatever team drafted the Hawaiian native, and they were crafted by his family as a tangible connection to this newfound family. The night before, McMillan had placed one on Goodell's neck as well on stage. Of all the Polynesian football players to be drafted before, he was the first to extend the honor.

"We kind of just wanted to do something that, you know, that's never been done," McMillan explained. "So me being the firstnot only Polynesianbut the first person to put the lei on the commissioner, it's honestly a blessing and I'm super glad that we did it and. Hopefully you we started a tradition."

The chance to do so was not one McMillan always envisioned. Following a freshmen season at Arizona in which he pulled in 39 receptions for 702 yards and eight touchdowns, McMillan and his mom met with her old college friend, Zeke Sandhu, who had become an NFL agent. Sitting at Benihana one night long before he was this kind of prospect, Sandhu told them that McMillan would be a Top10 draft pick in two years.

TMac laughed. What a bold prediction. What a long way away. What an unlikely scenario.

Sitting on the plane Friday heading back to Charlotte, two years after that dinner, Sandhu pointed towards his head, indicating how smart he was, and quipped, "I knew."

Someone else who knew wasBryce Young.

The Panthers quarterback has been visiting Morgan's office recently, watching McMillan's tape with the GM and pointing out how the lengthy 6-4 receiver could help Carolina. McMillan told reporters over Thursday night that he felt like Young banging the table was a big part of why he landed in Charlotte (although Morgan and Dave Canales had their own thoughts).

It's also why one of the first questions McMillan asked after settling into his seat on the plane headed South was if he'd get to see Bryce today. And why, when McMillan finally arrived in Charlotte and spotted his locker next to Young's, he exclaimed, "And I'm next to my boy," with an excited hop.

"At the end of the day, I have to come in here and earn his respect, earn his trust," McMillan said of his now-teammate. "But he believes in me and that's all I need in my quarterback."

Panthers players had Friday off after the first week of voluntary offseason work, but Young drove to the stadium to welcome his newest weapon. The duo met up at midfield in Bank of America Stadium, screens surrounding them, welcoming TMac to the Carolinas.

"Do I look better than you did when you came here?" the tailored McMillan jokingly asked Young, wearing team-issued workout gear.

"I don't know about all that," Young responded, before assuring, "No bro, you look fly."

The two talked for a while, discussing places the rookie could live, their Cali connection, and what they wanted the team to be. The entire time Morgan, offensive coordinator Brad Idzik, and Canales stood to the side, smiling at the connection already forming. All three sported the leis that made the 4,660-mile trip.

And McMillan was proudly wearing one as well. It was a gift from Canales.

The head coach also grew up in Southern California. The Canales family has a proud Hispanic heritage, one that lived alongside a Polynesian community in Carson, California, and taught Canales their culture as well.

"They either call you by your last name or where you're from," Canales explained to others around him, as to why McMillan's nicknames are TMac and Nalo, which is borrowed from Waimnalo. Years ago, a lady in the community, whom Canales refers to as an auntie, made two leis for Canales and his wife, Lizzy. One has always lived in Canales' truck, a reminder of where he came from. The other is in their home.

As they left the house Friday afternoon to come to the stadium and meet the newest draft pick, Lizzy had a thought.

"Let's take one to TMac."

The lei was done in the Carson High colors, where Canales got his coaching start. The colors are blue and black. As Lizzy placed it on McMillan's neck, Canales slapped McMillan on the back and told him, "Welcome home."

In the corner stood Dutro, wiping away tears that hit like a wave when she saw her son's jersey hanging in his NFL locker.

"It's just," she began, voice breaking, "it's real."

The McMillan clan will only get a short time in Charlotte. They have to board a plane again quickly, at least affording them another opportunity to see the Queen City from above, a moment they especially loved flying in Friday morning.

"It's just so green," TMac commented over and over again.

This time, they're making a transcontinental trip to the Hawaiian islands. There, Blanche has an entire town waiting to welcome her grandson home. Dutro estimates around 1,500 people will be there.

"It was only going to be 600, but it kept growing," she laughed.

In two weeks, McMillan will be back in Charlotte again, ready to take part in rookie minicamp as the face of the class. But for today, for this weekend, he'll soak it in and sing, "Today's the day I'll rise up and say, today's the day when my life will change."