How John Mills Became An Instant UW Freshman Starter

With a glance at the Montlake past, there has never been another player in the history of University of Washington football, now stretching over 136 seasons, quite like John Mills.

That would be an offensive lineman who showed up at age 17, weighed 365 pounds when he arrived, dismissed all physical obstacles almost with a wave of his meaty hand and became an immediate starter as a freshman.

Previous fast-rising Husky lineman types such as Trey Adams, Nick Harris and Chad Ward started as freshmen, too. Yet they needed multiple games as reserves or even a gray-shirt season (delaying enrollment for a year) before they could acclimate and settle in as game-opening UW players.

Jedd Fisch and his coaching staff noticed the possibilities in Mills right away. They went down a checklist, the same one they used at Arizona with freshman offensive-line starters Wendell Moe Jr. and Jonah Savaiinaea.

"You could kind of feel if they were ready, ahead of their time," Fisch said.

John Mills, overcoming an injury, has started six of the eight UW football games at left guard. | Dave Sizer photo

With each one, the coaches looked to see if these players were all physically grown up. They wanted to survey their demeanor. They wanted to know if these guys had handled their one-on-one high school matchups with the better players they encountered.

The kid from San Francisco checked every box.

"He was all of that," Fisch said. "He was all of that in regards of physicality. He was all of that in terms of that he played his best games against the best players. He had the attitude of wanting to come in and start right away.

"So he was attacking the weight room. He was attacking the meals, He was attacking the nutrition. And then on top of that, he always was upstairs, asking questions.

"He gave you every indication if it was his time, he could do it."

Carver Willis and John Mills have a lot in common. Hair is not one of them. | Dave Sizer photo

To date, Mills started the first five Husky games of the season at left offensive guard before he went down with a leg injury at Maryland, missed consecutive contests against Rutgers and Michigan, and reclaimed his spot last weekend against Illinois.

Former Husky linemen have been duly impressed in witnessing this man-child succeed at such an early age, which means he stands a more than reasonable chance of becoming one of the exceptional ones in program annals.

"Excited to watch him become great, maybe the next Lincoln Kennedy at UW," Don Dow, a 24-game UW starting offensive tackle in 1981 and 1982, posted on social media. Dow blocked for running back sensation Jacque Robinson, who was the Rose Bowl MVP as a freshman and is Nate's dad.

The then 6-foot-7, 325-pound Kennedy, however, became a consensus All-America selection and a first-round NFL draft pick while playing left offensive tackle, this after beginning his UW career as a defensive lineman -- and a redshirt.

The now 6-foot-6, 342-pound Mills, newly turned 18, could still mirror Kennedy's career path. He played both guard and tackle at St. ignatius High School in the Bay Area.

Which means there's a good bet he could be moved next season to the Huskies' starting left tackle position, typically reserved for the team's most productive offensive lineman.

"He absolutely has the opportunity to grow outward and play tackle," Fisch said. "I think we'll have to see who's coming in. We've got some really good prospects coming in and we have some really good players who are developing. So we'll figure out our best five next year and play them."

To be sure, it will be exceedingly difficult to find someone who's bigger or better than John Mills on the next Husky offensive line.

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