Young said at the start of the OTAs that they were working on a particular play, and McMillan recognized one of those nuances and told Young he would slow his route down to create space for another receiver on the other side of the play, so he didn’t accidentally drag a defender into that guy’s space.
“It’s stuff, like the rookies coming in, it’s like what’s the name of the road, what are my steps?” » Young said. “And immediately going in, feeling it, understanding what’s going on with the football IQ to get there, and applying it full speed ahead, that’s probably one of the first things I recognized.”
There’s also the simple matter of fitting in here, among a young group of receivers that includes last year’s freshman starters Xavier Legette and Jalen Coker, fellow rookie Jimmy Horn Jr. and the others. And in that integration, there was no pressure to play any particular game.
“He wants to catch every catch, and I know that sounds like coach talk, but he didn’t express it, I’m dying to get my first career touchdown, that’s not really his mental makeup,” Idzik said. “That’s why we love this guy. The guy goes out and plays receiver. You have to be inherently — I wouldn’t say selfish — but confident in yourself, right? You have to be in that world where I think I’m open every snap. I’m sure I’m going to get open every snap. If you look at that game where Xavier caught the (touchdown last week), TMac was open. He did his work and opened up as well. The ball went the other way. “
