With the NFL Draft coming up in just about one month, many college players, including Pitt defensive back Donovan McMillon, have their sights set on living out their football dreams.
McMillon, a Peters Township graduate, has traveled a long road so far in his football career from the WPIAL to the SEC, the ACC, and now he’s hoping for one final destination — the NFL.
After a successful high school career at Peters Township in the WPIAL, Donovan McMillon was offered an opportunity very few western Pennsylvania kids receive — a chance to play for the Florida Gators.
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Through two seasons, McMillon never became a starter in Gainesville, but says he’d do it all over again if he had the chance.
“I have no regrets with anything I’ve done in my past,” McMillon said. “I went through, you know, went to Florida, fell in love with that school, fell in love with the coaching staff. I had an amazing two years. I went through and played a lot. Played in the SEC. Made my dreams come true.”
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McMillon entered the transfer portal following his sophomore year and ultimately made his way back home to play for Pitt, a decision that has him on track to play professionally in the NFL.
“You know, I didn’t come in and walk into a starting job,” McMillon said. “I had to go and fight for a position. By week 3 of my junior season, I won a starting job and got a chance to go show out and shine. And then being able to go play 60, 70, 80 snaps a game shows as much evaluation that I need for the next level that I could possibly get, rather than maybe only splitting reps at Florida.
After the season ended, McMillon focused on training for his best chance to wow NFL scouts at Pitt’s upcoming pro day.
“Pro day’s massive for me,” McMillon said. “I’ve had this day marked on my calendar for the past three months. As soon as the season was out, I was like ‘Okay, that’s my day that I’m gonna go shine. I’m gonna go put my name on the map.'”
Pitt’s pro day will be McMillon’s only chance to impress scouts, as he didn’t receive an invite to show off his skills at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis.
“I’ve always seen myself as a little bit underlooked, whether it came to high school football recruiting to college to life in general,” McMillon said. “It just was another thing. I gotta go out and kill that pro day. Just seeing my name not on that list, I was like ‘Okay, the 26th is my day and they’re gonna go see why they should’ve had me at the combine.'”
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Pitt has a recent history of sending former WPIAL defensive backs to the NFL with players and McMillon believes he could be next in line.
“You have guys who are in the NFL right now,” McMillon said. “Damar Hamlin. Jordan Whitehead. Guys like that who are up there, but they still show love to the younger guys. So you know, me being able to possibly be the next guy to be like one of them and go to the NFL and make some production to go play years in the league, it’s just a blessing.”
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