DoogCourics
New Fish
There’s a hashtag pinned to the top of Jalen McMillan’s profile page on Twitter.
Actually, scratch that. It’s not a hashtag. It’s not a marketing gimmick. It’s a movement.
And it was conceived at the four-star Washington football commit’s dinner table during a conversation with his dad.
“My dad comes and says, ‘You should make your own hashtag,’” McMillan told The Times on Monday. “I was like, ‘What do you mean?’ And he said, ‘Something to go by when you recruit on Twitter.’
“It just popped in my head. #CALIREIGN. #PURPLEREIGN. I was like, ‘Yeah, let’s see if it works.’”
News flash: it works. McMillan — the No. 4 wide receiver and No. 31 overall prospect in the 2020 class, according to 247Sports — tweeted the hashtag for the first time on July 2, exactly a week after the Fresno, Calif., native verbally committed to UW. He tagged six Husky targets from the state of California — wide receivers Logan Loya, LV Bunkley Shelton and Troy Franklin, center Myles Murao, outside linebacker Jordan Banks and defensive back Makell Esteen — on the message as well.
Besides the hashtag, he added an eyeball emoji and two words — an open invitation.
Who’s next?
The answer was ultimately Murao — 247Sports’ No. 2 center and No. 77 overall recruit in 2020 — who pledged to UW on the Fourth of July.
But according to a mysterious McMillan, #CALIREIGN hasn’t finished reeling in fish.
“It’s going to be really cool to watch this next week,” he said, teasing another imminent commitment.
In the nine days since he first tweeted it, #CALIREIGN has started rolling — gaining traction with both recruits and fans on social media.
“Yeah, I’m fricken surprised about it,” McMillan said with a laugh, of the hashtag’s sudden surge in social media popularity.
“I’m definitely going to bring a lot of guys, especially from Cali,” said McMillan, who added that he is completely committed to UW and has ceased communications with all outside coaching staffs.
“I feel like if we get the right dudes we will be competing for a national championship in the next coming years. So yeah, I’m definitely going to be recruiting.”
Actually, scratch that. It’s not a hashtag. It’s not a marketing gimmick. It’s a movement.
And it was conceived at the four-star Washington football commit’s dinner table during a conversation with his dad.
“My dad comes and says, ‘You should make your own hashtag,’” McMillan told The Times on Monday. “I was like, ‘What do you mean?’ And he said, ‘Something to go by when you recruit on Twitter.’
“It just popped in my head. #CALIREIGN. #PURPLEREIGN. I was like, ‘Yeah, let’s see if it works.’”
News flash: it works. McMillan — the No. 4 wide receiver and No. 31 overall prospect in the 2020 class, according to 247Sports — tweeted the hashtag for the first time on July 2, exactly a week after the Fresno, Calif., native verbally committed to UW. He tagged six Husky targets from the state of California — wide receivers Logan Loya, LV Bunkley Shelton and Troy Franklin, center Myles Murao, outside linebacker Jordan Banks and defensive back Makell Esteen — on the message as well.
Besides the hashtag, he added an eyeball emoji and two words — an open invitation.
Who’s next?
The answer was ultimately Murao — 247Sports’ No. 2 center and No. 77 overall recruit in 2020 — who pledged to UW on the Fourth of July.
But according to a mysterious McMillan, #CALIREIGN hasn’t finished reeling in fish.
“It’s going to be really cool to watch this next week,” he said, teasing another imminent commitment.
In the nine days since he first tweeted it, #CALIREIGN has started rolling — gaining traction with both recruits and fans on social media.
“Yeah, I’m fricken surprised about it,” McMillan said with a laugh, of the hashtag’s sudden surge in social media popularity.
“I’m definitely going to bring a lot of guys, especially from Cali,” said McMillan, who added that he is completely committed to UW and has ceased communications with all outside coaching staffs.
“I feel like if we get the right dudes we will be competing for a national championship in the next coming years. So yeah, I’m definitely going to be recruiting.”
