There’s no expectation that Arizona finds the next Tetairoa McMillan in the transfer portal this offseason. As a result, the Wildcats have elected to replace his production by committee, adding a balance of size and speed at wide receiver through the portal. On Wednesday, Arizona picked up a commitment from former Chattanooga wide receiver Javin Whatley.
The 5-foot-10, 167-pound Rockmart, Georgia native, who goes by “Nunu”, is the definition of an all-around offensive playmaker. Last season for the Mocs, Whatley hauled in 55 receptions for 677 and six touchdowns. He also added another 396 yards and a touchdown on 14 kick return attempts.
In his career at Chattanooga, Whatley has 134 receptions for 2,058 yards and 17 touchdowns. Along with his 966 career kick return yards, he has 3,024 all-purpose yards and a total of 18 career touchdowns. Whatley earned SoCon All-Freshman Team honors in 2022, and Second-Team All-American Honors from Blue Bloods, and Second-Team All-SoCon honors in 2023.
Prior to his time at Chattanooga, Whatley was a high school quarterback for the Rockmart Yellow Jackets. In 2019, he was named an all-region quarterback, after throwing for 1,533 yards, 1,150 rushing yards, and 36 total touchdowns. He was an unranked prospect coming out of high school, holding offers from Akron, Army, and Shorter, before committing to the Mocs.
With the commitment from Javin Whatley, he will join an Arizona wide receiver room that has added Luke Wysong (New Mexico), Kris Hutson (Washington State), and Tre Spivey (Kansas State). He is also the 21st commitment from the transfer portal for the Wildcats, and 13th addition on the offensive side of the ball.