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College Football Is Just Getting To Know The Incomparable John Mills Talented and wildly entertaining, John Mills has many fun and quirky sides to him.
Last season, the University of Washington offensive guard drew a fan club o Talented and wildly entertaining, John Mills has many fun and quirky sides to him.
Last season, the University of Washington offensive guard drew a fan club of friends and family to games wearing mullet blond wigs to resemble him.
Mills also was that guy standing shirtless this winter with eyes closed and looking spiritual as snow fell all around him in Husky Stadium.
During spring practice, he instantly became the Lyle Alzado character from the classic football film "North Dallas 40" by trading intricate fist bumps with running back Quaid Carr that mirrored a memorable scene from that movie.
Sampling prime cuts this summer, he turned into an impish Anthony Bourdain by sharing personal steakhouse reviews.John Mills and Kodi Greene enjoy a snow flurry or two.
| UW College football still doesn't know him well enough, but it's catching on to this larger than football life personality.
This season, Mills promises to be one of the game's elite Power 4 players as this 6-foot-6, 335-pound sophomore -- down from 360-plus when he reported in 2025 -- is poised to dominate the trenches for the Huskies.Mills is still just 18 and already has lived a football lifetime.
This is one in a series of articles -- going from 0 to 99 on the UW roster -- examining what each scholarship player and leading walk-on did in spring practice and what to expect from them going into fall camp.
Mills has star quality written all over and it's time everyone else across the game started reading his positive reviews.If all goes as envisioned, he stands to become another Steve Emtman or a Vita Vea figure in Montlake who will physically take over games on offense much like those others did as defensive linemen."I actually think John Mills is going to probably be a first-round pick in two years, for sure, and is probably going to be an NFL Hall of Famer," former Husky edge rusher Zach Durfee, now with the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars, stated rather boldly.
Mills, according to his offensive-line coach Michael Switzer, only has to refine his fundamentals and technique to take the next step.Hes moving in a different way, Switzer said.
You separate yourself playing offensive line with the detail in which you play, with the ability to communicate at a high level.
Hes shown that he can be physical.
Hes shown that he can do all that kind of stuff." Once that happens, those who consider the Huskies a borderline Top 25 team should see them in a whole different light.
He's the kind of guy who normally plays for Michigan or Ohio State, but the UW has him coming out of a stance and it's best not squander him.
He started immediately on the Husky offensive line -- and no freshman in school annals had ever done that before.Mills came ready to play from the very first snap.
To laugh out loud.
Overpower others.
Laugh some more.Become unforgettable.
Leave his teenage years behind, but amazingly not until he's a junior in 2027.
: A one-time Texas commit who flipped to the UW, Mills showed himself to be a Freshman All-American by starting 11 games, nine at left guard and two at right tackle.
He missed two games with a high ankle sprain that typically would have kept someone else out of action for far longer.: Mills is the bonafide leader of this Husky team, not just a guaranteed starter.
He assumed that role in spring ball, repeatedly speaking out to teammates, young and old, and encouraging them all throughout the 15 practices to step it up.
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Please wait while we load personalized content recommendationsDan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer.His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time.
In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S.
Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.