McMillon: 'It all just works because I’m a Pittsburgh guy'
Donovan McMillon and Pitt seemed like a natural fit for one another from the moment he entered the transfer portal on December 7th. The Florida Gators safety was looking for a new home and he received numerous offers, but Pitt obviously made a lot of sense
McMillon was a star high school players in the Pittsburgh region in the class of 2021 for Peters Township. Of course, there was the returning home element to it all, but there were more things that drew him back to his hometown program.
“Obviously when it comes to the team and all the football and everything, I just loved what Coach Sanders and Coach Narduzzi were talking to me about and being able to play in an aggressive defense and win and that’s really important to me,” McMillon told Panther-Lair.com. “Pitt is still a really good university as well educational wise.”
Football and education are two of the big reasons, but being around family was also a nice bonus in his decision.
“Lastly it all just works because I’m a Pittsburgh guy,” he explained. “For my family at least, they are going to be able to get to every game now and that’s really good as well.”
McMillon visited Pitt earlier this week, but there wasn’t anything new for him to see. He has visited Pitt many times and he knew what the school was all about well before he made his decision to commit on Thursday evening.
“I didn’t really need the visit to make my decision because I visited a bunch when I was younger, so there was already a comfort level and it was the same guys that were recruiting me the first time,” McMillon said of the second recruiting process with Pitt.
As a player for the Gators, McMillon registed 30 tackles in 25 career games. He worked on special teams and as a reserve defensive back and will be looking for a bigger role. He is also looking to win more games, and believes he can do that at Pitt. Over the last two seasons at Florida, the Gators have compiled a 12-13 record. Meanwhile, Pitt collected an ACC Championship in 2021 and has won 19 games total over the last two seasons.
“I just think they are a really consistent program and that’s just what I’ve noticed throughout the past few years,” McMillon said of Pitt. “They’re just consistent and the fact that they won the ACC last year and having a really solid year, going 8-4, it’s just something I have yet to do. In high school for football and wrestling, I never lost much, but the past few years at Florida I’ve lost the most I’ve ever lost in my life and just seeing a team like Pitt being consistent and do what they are supposed to do really excites me.”
McMillon should have a chance to help Pitt right away in 2023. The Panthers have a top-20 defense this year, and while some talented players will be moving on from it, some will be returning and should continue to have success. The former four-star recruit is planning to learn multiple spots once he gets to campus in order to help the team win games in whatever role he is needed to fill.
“Coach Sanders preaches that all of their guys learn multiple positions and that’s something I did at Florida as well,” he explained. “So I am going to be up for the challenge to learn multiple positions and be able to play field, boundary, and star — anything the coaches need me to play.”
McMillon is the second former Pittsburgh area high school star to transfer to Pitt this offseason, joining Phil Jurkovec. The Pitt roster is filled with Pittsburgh area natives like MJ Devonshire, Dayon Hayes, Elliot Donald, and Nahki Johnson, some guys he was familiar with from the recruiting process
“They’re all good guys and I can’t wait to reconnect with them and finally get a chance to be teammates with those guys,” he said of joining a team with a lot of Pittsburgh natives. “It’s real cool.”
McMillon is set to enroll for classes and will be in school in next month. He will be ready to participate with the team for spring ball.