GREEN BAY, Wis. — For a long time, Tetairoa McMillan's lasting memory of Bryce Young was a high school game from October of 2019.

Young, leading the then-undefeated Mater Dei football team, faced off against McMillian's Servite, two rival schools in Southern California.

"He whooped us his senior year on national television by 45 points," recalled McMillan Thursday night, sitting in Green Bay to preview his career with the Carolina Panthers as the No. 8 overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft by looking back at the night Young went 28-34 for 338 yards and four touchdowns in a 56-11 win.

"In my eyes, he was the best player in the country and to everybody else's eyes, but man, he was just really good. He knew how to get his teammates involved. He was super patient in the pocket. He threw a pretty ball, and, you know, he has swag on that field."

Young went on to play at Alabama, winning a Heisman trophy and becoming the No. 1 overall pick for the Panthers in 2023. McMillan, two years his junior, watched from afar, following the career of the guy he said has "literally been the best player at each level of the game," while the receiver himself was putting together a record-breaking career with the Arizona Wildcats. McMillan had back-to-back seasons of 1,300-plus yards, the third-most receiving yards in FBS in 2024, the most career receiving yards (3,423) and most receiving yards in a game (304) in Wildcats school history, and a first-team All-American season to cap it off, leading to being a Top 10 draft pick.

McMillan floated from booth to booth Thursday night behind the NFL draft stage, exuberant energy carrying him through countless interviews required of being a Top 10 pick. And in each one, he made sure to give credit to the man he firmly believes is responsible for his drafting to Carolina.

"I got to give credit to Bryce Young, man, you know, he's a Cali kid, so I know he was in there in the GM's ear and coach Canales' ear and just telling them to grab me. So shout out to him," McMillan smiled, referencing what he's already calling the "Cali Connection."

There are a lot of dynamic prospects that emerge from the fertile Southern California ground, though, and Bryce Young isn't going to Dan Morgan's office to pound the table for all of them. But about a month ago, the two were at 3DQB (a quarterback training facility) in Huntington Beach, Calif.

"It was my first time ever catching the ball from him and running routes from him. So, I guess you can say we got a head start on our little chemistry," McMillan smiled.

And the result?

"That connection is gonna be something special."

Enough so, Young felt confident going to Dan Morgan and watching McMillan's tape with his GM. It's a trust and belief from his new quarterback that McMillan can't help but be humbled by.

"Although I feel like I did what I needed to do to be in the position, I gave credit to Bryce for vouching for me and, ultimately, for them taking a chance on me."

Young was so much a part of this decision that Morgan and coach Dave Canales called the quarterback as soon as the pick was in Thursday night.

"I love it," Young gushed to his coach and GM of the pick.

Now, years after playing against each other or watching the other's game across timezones and leagues, the quarterback-receiver duo will be back on the same field but now in the same uniform. And as Young, who went 197-319 (61.8 percent) for 2,104 yards, with 15 touchdown passes and six interceptions (88.9 passer rating) after earning his starting role back in Week 8, takes a huge step forward in what is still an adolescent career, he'll have a rookie deep-threat weapon to grow alongside him.

"I mean, it's a blessing for me knowing that I have a young quarterback to grow with throughout in the league and just being able to have a quarterback that's reliable, being able to have a quarterback that trusted me. It's definitely someone I look up to growing up. So, being able to finally be on his team and fortunate enough to catch his passes, I mean, I feel like the sky is the limit for both of us in this offense," McMillan said of Young.

"I feel like even though we have never played together; I feel like our Cali chemistry will kick in, and as well as the receivers, you know, I feel like there's some vets in there and also some young guys that can teach me the way, teach me the ropes as far as, what it takes to be successful in this league and, at the end of the day, I know that we have good coaching in the facility to get this team where it needs to be."

Getting the Panthers to "where it needs to be" requires flushing a lot of what happened in Young's rookie season. The second half of the 2024 season went a long way towards doing that. McMillan was never worried, though, even halfway across the country. He'd seen Bryce Young up close years ago. He felt that even then, the quarterback was the best player in the state, maybe the country, even if the rest of the country didn't know yet.

Now, it's about reminding everyone of that.

"Like I said earlier, he's been the best player at every level, and, you know, obviously these past couple of years, and then he struggled a little bit, and I was surprised; he's one of the best players I've ever seen in my life," McMillan admitted.

"Towards the end of the season, you know, you saw a glimpse of his greatness, and it looked like he finally got his swagger back, finally got his confidence back, and that's a huge testament to Andy Dalton just kind of bringing him along.

"And, man, I feel like this is the year where Bryce will explode and I'm just, I'm happy to be a part of it."