Film Room: Isaiah McMillian

Kentucky loaded up at cornerback in the 2025 high school cycle by adding three prospects to the roster. The Cats are doing something similar in 2026. Isaiah McMillian became the program’s ninth recruiting win in June on Sunday.

The Katy (Texas) High product picked the Cats over Arizona, Iowa, and Pittsburgh, and became the second Texas high school product to join the class. A third could be on the way on the soon but first it’s time to see what the Cats are adding to the secondary to join Jordan Crutchfield and Messiah Tilson in this signing class.

Isaiah McMillian is a cornerback prospect who can trigger downhill, finish tackles, and make plays on the ball in the air.

Striking plus ball skills

Isaiah McMillian is listed at 6-foot and 170 pounds but the 2026 prospect does look a little shorter than that on tape. Regardless, the 2026 prospect plays bigger than his listed size. Playing mostly off coverage for Katy High, McMillian shows smooth transitions in and out of breaks and isn’t afraid to stick his face in the fan.

The tackling profile is strong for this cornerback prospect.

McMillian can transition quickly downhill and shows good play recognition throughout his junior tape. Upon contact, the cornerback is a clean tackler who consistently rolls his hips and brings his arms in a wrapping motion to finish plays. It is all over the film. McMillian consistently shows short-area burst and flashes some violence at the collision point. The cornerback flashes good positional feel as a player who is able to play through contact and finish plays.

That also shows up in coverage.

McMillian also shows his ability to transition out of a back pedal and break on the football in off coverage. The cornerback is also able to cleanly flip his hips in coverage and find the football in the air. Good ball tracking led to multiple interceptions on tape. The prospect is a good athlete for the position and plays with football IQ. That leads to physical plays as a tackler and playmaking in coverage.

Kentucky’s newest defensive commit can finish plays.

A safe bet at cornerback

Isaiah McMillian appears to have a long standing reach, has clocked sub-11 times in the 100 meters (which would translate to a forty-yard dash in the high 4.4s/low 4.5s or maybe even higher), and finishes plays both as a tackler and coverage player on tape. There is a lot to like about Kentucky’s most recent recruiting win.

The Wildcats have beaten Iowa for another defensive back prospect on the recruiting trail and that is notable. The Hawkeyes are a zone-heavy defense that often produces secondary draft picks as they consistently find cornerbacks who can tackle, cover, and make plays in zone drops. McMillian appears to be a prospect that can do all of those things.

Kentucky’s latest commit appear to be the full package with both a strong tackling and coverage profile with legitimate positional athleticism that stands out on tape. The Metro Houston native can get in and out of breaks, triggers down hill quickly, and can easily change direction in a snap in coverage while also showing comfortability playing in zone coverage. All of those play traits should translate to Kentucky.

Isaiah McMillian projects as a field cornerback in Kentucky’s zone-heavy scheme that can be a quality tackler and space eliminator playing to the wide side of the field in addition to showing good feel in off coverage plus legitimate sticky man coverage potential.

This was a high-quality recruiting win for defensive backs coach Chris Collins and defensive coordinator Brad White.