It was a staple of his career at West Forsyth. He developed it even more in the secondary at East Carolina.

And once he got his opportunity with the Denver Broncos last season, McMillian demonstrated that his skills have carried over to the NFL.

McMillian was back on the field at Jerry Peoples Stadium at West Forsyth last Saturday, assisting his former Titans teammate, K.J. Henry, with his youth football camp.

There may not have been many of the nearly 200 campers who knew that they were getting instruction from someone whose first career NFL interception came off Patrick Mahomes. Or that he holds the record for career interceptions at West Forsyth with 22, or his 16 pass break-ups during his junior year at East Carolina is a single-season record, or that he recorded 12 interceptions in his three years with the Pirates.

McMillian is a soft-spoken ballhawk who lets his play on the field speak for itself.

After going undrafted when he left ECU after three seasons, he was signed to the Denver Broncos practice squad for his rookie season in 2022.

“It was kind of bittersweet for me,” McMillian said. “Don’t get me wrong. It was better than having to come home and not be playing, but it also wasn’t what I wanted. I wanted to make the 53 (player roster). But It allowed me to be at practice every day and try to get better. I was going against the (first team offense) every day in practice. I tried my best going against those guys and that taught me a lot. I also learned a lot from the other guys in the room with me.”

For the first 17 weeks of the 2022 season, McMillian watched and waited.

And before the final week of the season, McMillian got word that he not only would be dressing for the season finale against the Los Angeles Chargers, he would also be starting in the secondary.

“I remember it like it was yesterday,” McMillian said. “Damarri Mathis, who was playing in front of me, got a concussion the week before and they weren’t sure if he was going to be able to play. He came to me and said, ‘J-mac, you are going to have to start. I can’t go this week.’ And my whole body just went into shock. It was an unbelievable feeling. It was the best opportunity I ever got and I just tried to make the most of it.”

All McMillian did was go out and record seven tackles in his NFL debut. He also nearly had an interception return for a touchdown off Justin Herbert, but the play was overturned on replay as officials determined the ball hit the ground and the pass was ruled incomplete.

“The moment is never too big for him,” said Adrian Snow, the former coach at West Forsyth who coached McMillian all four years. “All he needed was to get his chance. He turned it out in that Chargers game.”

Snow knows this all too well. He had heard about McMillian’s skills through his older brother, Jayshawn, who also played for four seasons under Snow and was a senior when Ja’Quan was a freshman.

“We’re down at A.L. Brown (high school) for a 7 on 7 (scrimmage) in the summer and Ja’Quan’s with us and he hasn’t even started school at West Forsyth yet,” Snow said. “He’s a rising ninth-grader at this point, and I’m going to see what he’s made of right off the bat. We’re going up against Myers Park, and I’m pretty good friends with the coach. I put Ja’Quan in at cornerback and told their coach, ‘Hey, we think this guy’s pretty good, but he’s only a freshman. Can you just check his oil for me?’ And wouldn’t you know it, the first time they throw the deep ball Ja’Quan’s way, he picks it off. And he just took off from there.”

McMillian went on to have seven interceptions in his freshman year with the Titans, made the Journal’s All-Northwest football team all four years and according to Snow, set a record by starting 52 football games for West Forsyth.

“He had a 99-yard touchdown catch and a 99-yard interception return when he played here,” Snow added. “He’s just a special young man. He’s worked his tail off. He’s been doubted a lot in his life, and every time, he rises to the occasion. He was doubted during the recruiting process. He was doubted by the NFL. I can tell you this – we’ve never doubted him. And we’re just so proud of that young man.”

McMillian smiled when he was asked about some of his favorite memories during his West Forsyth days.

“I got to play one season with my brother when I was a freshman and he was a senior,” McMillian said. “I got to play for a coach that wrapped his arms around me from day one. Being out here today to help teach these kids, that’s another great memory for me, because they are the next generation. Being able to play with people like K.J. (Henry) and then him asking me to be a part of this, that’s pretty special, too.”

Once McMillian flashed his potential during his lone game during the 2022 season, last season was a breakout. He was inactive the first game, played on special teams the next two weeks, and in the fourth game of the season, became the starter at nickel in the secondary.

It was the week after the Broncos were blown out by the Miami Dolphins 70-20.

In a 31-28 win over the Chicago Bears, McMillian recorded six tackles. Four weeks later, he picked off Mahomes on a pass that was intended for Travis Kelce in a 24-9 win. Two weeks after the Kansas City win, he picked off Joshua Dobbs, the Minnesota Vikings quarterback, in a 21-20 win.

McMillian recorded sacks in back-to-back games against Houston and the Los Angeles Chargers in early December. He finished the 2023 season with 51 tackles (37 solo), two sacks, two interceptions, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.

“Once he cracked the lineup, he just started making plays,” Snow said. “He’s always been that guy.”

McMillian said that he wasn’t going to let the opportunity he was given slip past him.

“I proved to myself that I can play at this level,” he said. “I just needed to get that opportunity and more reps. The more reps I got, the better I got with learning the defense and the details of the defense and all the moving parts that allow me to play faster. Week in and week out, I just went in there and tried to compete at a high level and started making plays by being around the ball. I just wanted to go out there and play as smart and as physical as I could. And once all that fell into place, the ball started finding me.”

McMillian said that he will take nothing for granted as he enters his third year in the NFL. He knows there are no guarantees that he will be a starter this season, let alone make the 53-player roster.

“It’s never a given in the league,” McMillian said. “You work to earn everything. They are always looking for the next guy. I’m going to go in there with the same mentality I’ve always had – just put in the work to get better. The good thing is that it will be my second year in this defense, so mentally, I’m trying to take the next step. I’m blessed to be in the position that I’m in.”