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Former WPIAL stars Derrick Davis (Gateway) and Donovan McMillon (Peters Township) once faced off in the 2019 WPIAL Class 5A Championship game. The two have now teamed up at the collegiate level, both transferring to Pitt this winter.
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After years of competing against each other, Derrick Davis Jr. and Donovan McMillon excited to join forces at Pitt

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

After years of competing against each other, Derrick Davis Jr. and Donovan McMillon excited to join forces at Pitt

It all started with a postgame handshake in Gainesville, Fla.

As the final seconds ticked away in LSU’s 45-35 victory over Florida in “the Swamp,” players from both sidelines made their way to midfield to congratulate each other on a hard-fought battle.

In the midst of the fray stood Derrick Davis Jr. and Donovan McMillon. The year prior, the two WPIAL standouts exchanged gloves after their teams went to battle and the plan was to once again do the same. Right after making the swap, however, a conversation took place that sparked a significant change in both of their lives.

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“It was pretty quick and sweet,” McMillon said. “We just said, ‘You trying to team up and make some noise happen back home?’ He was interested in it. We talked slightly, stayed focused at our schools and did what we were supposed to do, but it was always in the back of our heads, that opportunity.”

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Not long after, that opportunity came to fruition. At the end of the 2022 regular season, both McMillon and Davis entered the transfer portal. On Dec. 16, McMillon announced he would be transferring to Pitt. Davis did the same less than a month later on Jan. 10. The two former WPIAL standouts were now teammates.

Davis and McMillon have a past that dates back prior to their time in the SEC. Rated as two of the state’s top recruits from the Class of 2021, the duo had a few notable run-ins during their days at Gateway and Peters Township.

The two first collided in 2019 when Davis’ Gators topped McMillon’s Indians 21-20 at then-named Heinz Field in the WPIAL Class 5A final. McMillon got his revenge the following year, leading Peters Township to a 20-19 win over Gateway in the WPIAL semifinals to bring an end to Davis’ high school career.

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“I was kinda heartbroken, but it is what it is,” Davis said with a laugh. “It was pretty cool [playing against him], knowing that we were two big-time recruits coming out of western [Pennsylvania]. To see both of us playing on a big stage for the same goal was pretty cool.”

McMillon agrees it was fun to play against Davis but says their head-to-head battles aren’t coming to an end just because they now play for the same squad.

“We’re going to compete every day,” McMillon said. “He’s going to break some runs loose. I’m going to come down and hit him a couple times, but it’s all love. We’re going to be great together for sure.”

When asked why they didn’t originally decide to team up at Pitt out of high school, both said, in their own words, the timing wasn’t right. After establishing themselves as stars in their local communities, Davis and McMillon both felt the itch to get away from home.

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And while things didn’t work out for either of them at their original schools of choice, both believe the lessons they learned in their first two seasons at the collegiate level will set them up for success with the Panthers.

“Being down in the SEC, it allowed me to mature in a different way,” Davis said. “Those games against those teams allowed me to pick up things that I probably couldn’t have picked up anywhere else.”

“Just being able to grow from a distance, that definitely helped,” McMillon said. “I could’ve grown the exact same way at Pitt, but every once in a while, my grandma would want to come over and do my laundry or bring me leftovers. Me being able to pay my own bills, do my laundry, clean the toilets in the house, having all the other stuff on the side that forced me to mature is going to help me transition well at Pitt.”

Davis and McMillon are both optimistic about what they can individually contribute to their new program.

After seeing limited playing time on both sides of the ball at LSU, Davis is fully committed to playing running back for the Panthers and looks to work his way into a rotation with returning lettermen Rodney Hammond Jr. and C'Bo Flemister. McMillon on the other hand will compete for one of the two starting safety positions, saying he’s open to trying his hand at either spot.

The two former competitors certainly share a long list of goals upon arrival. Both hope to earn a bigger role and once again become a star in western Pennsylvania. But, more than anything else, Davis and McMillon say the biggest reason they came back to Pittsburgh is to win.

“We have a lot of talent, a lot of speed,” Davis said when asked for his thoughts on his new teammates. “I think that’s one thing a lot of people look over is the amount of talent that we have here. We’re going to do some really great things here.

“I think [coach Pat Narduzzi] and the whole staff are really making something happen right now, like the 2021 ACC championship, for example. That was an exciting thing to see and watch. I’m excited to be a part of it and go win another one.”

Noah Hiles: nhiles@post-gazette.com and Twitter @_NoahHiles

First Published: January 25, 2023, 8:31 p.m.

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Former WPIAL stars Derrick Davis (Gateway) and Donovan McMillon (Peters Township) once faced off in the 2019 WPIAL Class 5A Championship game. The two have now teamed up at the collegiate level, both transferring to Pitt this winter.  (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
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