Need for speed

Defensive coordinators can’t predict when Jalen McMillan will strike. But even if they could, he would be difficult to contain. 

The Spain Park High School senior wide receiver has established a reputation for producing explosive plays. 

“When they call the deep routes, I’m like, ‘It’s either a first down or a touchdown,’” McMillan said, grinning. “That’s my motto every time they throw the ball to me. Usually, that tends to happen.”

After revealing hints of his potential last season, McMillan has taken his game to another level in 2017. He led the Spain Park pass-catching corps with more than 500 yards receiving and five total touchdowns through the season’s first six games. 

He also has excelled on special teams, infusing energy as a return man. One of his five scores, in fact, came on a kickoff that he carried 85 yards to the end zone.  

“We haven’t had a guy to just take the top off the defense, and he’s that guy,” Jags head coach Shawn Raney said. “It’s great to have speed.” 

Thanks in part to his longtime participation in track and field, McMillan possesses plenty of that to tap into. He began sprinting in summer track competitions at age 5, one year before he strapped on his first set of shoulder pads. 

He has overachieved in both sports ever since. 

Prior to his standout senior football season, he captured school records last spring in the 100- and 200-meter dashes. 

“You take a kid like Jalen, who gains some confidence in track because he’s so skilled at that, I think that carries over to the football field,” Raney said. 

It has, but not without a hitch. McMillan strained his right hamstring two weeks before the state track meet in May. The injury cut his season short and sidelined him during spring football. 

“That’s never happened,” McMillan said. "It caught me by surprise.”

But he responded with determination. The 6-foot wideout rehabbed his hamstring with strength training, manual therapy and cryotherapy. 

When he returned to the practice field in July, he immediately got to work. Time had been lost. 

Over the second half of the summer, McMillan modified his stance at the line of scrimmage, honed his explosiveness and refined his route running. He also began to dial back in with quarterback Braxton Barker. 

The two, who have played together since they were seventh-graders at Berry Middle School, demonstrated a strong connection upon earning their first substantive varsity action last season. 

In Spain Park’s 2016 first-round playoff game at James Clemens, Barker hit McMillan in stride for a 53-yard touchdown. 

“When it came to the game when both of us were in, he made a lot of plays that we needed to make,” Barker said. 

McMillan has continued the trend this season, chewing up yards in large chunks. Three of his four receiving touchdowns have come on plays of at least 35 yards, and he's averaged nearly 18 yards per catch. 

“He’s just a talented, skilled athlete,” Raney said. “A lot of times a track guy is a just straight-line speed guy, but he’s very quick, got a lot of mobility.” 

McMillan’s most prolific showing yet occurred in the Jags’ Sept. 15 meeting with Hoover, when he sliced the Bucs defense for 141 yards. Half were gobbled up on one play. 

McMillan used a double move in the first quarter to create separation on a route before making a fingertip catch. He then dashed to the end zone for a 70-yard score. 

McMillan credited Barker for delivering an accurate throw under pressure. The quarterback, however, deflected praise back to his teammate. 

“He can take off, and no one can run with him,” Barker said. “It’s pretty easy when he’s wide open.”