Inside The Huskies

Huskies' Mills Lumped With Nation's Best O-Linemen

The UW offensive guard turns up among 15 players singled out as top blockers.
Dan Raley|
John Mills is just starting to attract All-America attention.
John Mills is just starting to attract All-America attention. | Dave Sizer photo

It took a while for others to warm to him -- either because of his youth or the fact he plays in American's most far-flung FBS outpost -- but it appears John Mills officially has joined college football's big-name big boys.

There might be no stopping him now.

This week, ESPN included the University of Washington sophomore left guard among 15 offensive linemen singled out for consideration for its preseason All-America offensive unit.

He was one of 10 candidates drawing consideration behind an elite five who were featured.

As convoluted as that may sound, it's a start for the precocious San Francisco kid who has played sooner than any other true freshman offensive lineman in Montlake annals.

Once Mills cracks someone's All-America first team, he may never know anything else for the duration of his college career.

This much is known about his inclusion to this ESPN grouping of the supposed finest offensive linemen, which collectively go three deep: the Husky lineman is elite in his own way when it comes to size and age.

By far, Mills is the heaviest of the chosen 15, with his 6-foot-6, 342-pound frame currently weighing in at least 18 more pounds than the next guy, Missouri's 6-foot-5, 324-pound senior left tackle Cayden Green, another in the also-considered group.

The Husky blocker, in fact, is 50 pounds heavier or just shy of that amount when compared to two of the players singled out for ESPN's top five in Houston's 6-foot-2, 295-pound senior left guard Shadre Hurst and Iowa's 6-foot-4, 290-pound junior right guard Kade Pieper.

"I'm still trying to slim down and get a pro-looking, offensive-line build," Mills said recently.

He likewise is taller than everyone in this elite club except for Texas' junior left tackle Trevor Goosby, who goes 6-foot-7 with his 312 pounds, with Goosby singled out as one of ESPN's top five linemen. Mills is the only one who stretches to 6-foot-6.

ESPN TOP 5 LINEMEN

2025 TOP HONOR

Carter Smith, Indiana LT, 6-5, 313, Sr.

Second-team AP All-American

Shadre Hurst, Houston, LG, 6-2, 295, Sr.

Second-team Sporting News All-American

Kade Pieper, Iowa, RG, 6-4, 290, Jr.

Third-team All-Big Ten

Evan Tengesdahl, Cincinnati, LG, 6-3, 320, Sr.

Third-team AP All-American

Trevor Goosby, Texas, LT, 6-7, 312, Jr.

First-team All-SEC

ALSO CONSIDERED

2025 TOP HONOR

John Mills, Washington, LG, 6-6, 342, So.

All-Big Ten honorable mention

Jordan Seaton, LSU, LT, 6-5, 305, Jr.

Second-team All-Big 12 (for Colorado)

Anthonie Knapp, Notre Dame, LT, 6-4, 300, Jr.

2024 Freshman All-American

Dontrell Glover, Georgia, RG, 6-3, 320, So.

Freshman All-American

Sheridan Wilson, Texas Tech, C, 6-5, 300, Sr.

Third-team All-Big 12

Drew Bobo, Georgia, C, 6-5, 300, Jr.

Second-team All-SEC

Luke Montgomery, Ohio State, RG, 6-5, 312, Jr.

Second-team All-Big Ten

Cayden Green, Missouri, LT, 6-5, 324, Sr.

First-team All-SEC

Jacarrius Peak, South Carolina, LT, 6-4, 310, Sr.

All-ACC honorable mention (for North Carolina State)

For those curious, Goosby redshirted rather than played as a true freshman in 2023, which means he was a spectator for the UW's 37-31 victory over the Longhorns in the 2024 Sugar Bowl and CFP semifinal game in New Orleans.

Mills is tied for being the youngest of these 15 select offensive linemen with Georgia's 6-foot-3, 320-pound right guard Dontrell Glover.

Both Mills and Glover were 11-game starters as true freshmen in 2025, with Glover playing right guard for the Bulldogs.

The Huskies huddle up, with freshmen John Mills (72) and Champ Taulealea (73) among those awaiting the next play.
The Huskies huddle up, with freshmen John Mills (72) and Champ Taulealea (73) among those awaiting the next play. | Dave Sizer photo

The Husky standout is one of three left guards on this listing, joined by Cincinnati's 6-foot-3, 320-pound senior Evan Tengesdahl and Houston's Hurst.

Interestingly enough, four of these top 15 blockers come from Georgia, another four are Ohio products, and two are from Texas.

Mills, who's from California, is the only lineman in this group coming from west of Nebraska.

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Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan 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.

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