CHARLOTTE — Arizona wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan is obviously a big target.

And he's obviously made a lot of big plays.

But as he prepares to hear his name called during the first round of the NFL draft, he wants people to know there's more to his game than what they've seen so far.

"I feel like people sleep on my ability with the ball in my hands," McMillan said during the scouting combine. "Obviously, everybody knows about my 50-50 balls and my catch radius. But I feel like I can get in and out of my breaks as a big receiver, and ability with the ball in my hands. . . .

"And I feel like, you know, people look at me as a big receiver, which I am. I'm physically dominant, but at the end of the day, I'm able to run every route in the route tree. I'm able to play inside or outside, and I feel like a lot of people, a lot of teams are sleeping on that right now."

Of course, if people get hung up on the big part, it's for a good reason.

At 6-foot-4, 219 pounds, McMillan presents a massive target. And with the numbers he put up in three years at Arizona, it's clear he knows how to use his size.

He averaged 18.0 yards per catch as a freshman and continued to make big plays.

He caught 90 passes for 1,402 yards in his second season, with 10 touchdowns. Even though last year's numbers were down a hair, they were still impressive (84 catches for 1,319 yards and eight touchdowns).

Averaging 16.1 yards per reception for his career proves his big-play ability, which he partially owes to his volleyball and basketball past. When asked what part of his game was underrated, he said, "My explosiveness," which says plenty considering his stats.

Coupled with a 34-inch vertical and 10-inch hands, getting in the air is where he wins.

"That's a testament to my basketball, my volleyball background," he said. "Being able to high point the ball, at the end of the day, I can have a high vertical, but it's about timing. I've got to meet the ball before the defender gets to it."

He was born in Hawaii and moved to Southern California when he was 12, but it was another Arizona-based wideout he modeled his game after.

As role models go, Larry Fitzgerald is a good one, considering he's second-all-time in receptions and receiving yards behind some guy named Jerry Rice.

Fitzgerald figured out how to build on his size and speed when he got to the league en route to a 17-year career that will put him in the Hall of Fame. And in that regard, McMillan wants to emulate him as well.

"I'm just a super competitive person, ready to play the best in the world," he said. "This is the highest level you can possibly play in this game, and being able to play the best in the world and the best to do it in this game is something I look forward to and gets me excited to play.

"We're always chasing greatness. So at the end of the day, the motto I live by is great, not good. At the end of the day I want to be one of the best to ever play this game."