The freshman offensive guard makes it fun in his Husky football interactions.
John Mills, the man-child, the myth, the legend, sat down at a table on Tuesday afternoon at the front of the University of Washington football team meeting room, to interact with local media members for the first time, and then the fun began.
Yes, he's still just 17 years old, which won't change until he celebrates his birthday on October 16, which means he will have started six college football games before he legally becomes an adult and receives the right to vote, enter into a contract or marry without parental consent. After he plopped down in a chair seated next to freshman wide receiver Dezmen Roebuck, Mills proved to be every bit as engaging in conversation as he is physically intimidating as a left offensive guard with his enormous size. "I like guard a lot," said Mills, with his long, stringy blond hair going every which direction. "You can be very physical and very nasty -- and I love that." Asked for his current dimensions, he relayed how he recently measured 6-foot-6 and change and weighed somewhere between 338 to 342 pounds. Asked about the revelations that he and some of the other first-year offensive linemen arrived at the UW much larger than that, Mills verified all of it to be true.John Mills is a load when coming out of a stance and looking for someone to hit. / Dave Sizer photo Ever since, Mills has shed weight by working closely with team nutritionalist Tanner Graves and Husky strength and conditioning coach Tyler Owens, turning him into a finished product able to land an immediate starting job.Initially during his recruitment, he was committed to Texas and former UW coach Steve Sarkisian before Jedd Fisch's Huskies made a successful push and flipped him, bringing him to Montlake. "I liked Texas and the brand they have," he said. "Big stadium. Big brand. Big name. Good food there." Landen Hatchett and John Mills provide UW protection for QB Demond Williams Jr. . / Dave Sizer photo However, the UW ended up with him because he had family connections with the football program -- his grandpa Joe Ryan was a Husky two-way lineman in the 1960s and they share the No. 72 -- and he bonded with Fisch's staff. "This is the best decision I ever made in my life to come here," Mills said. "I'm grateful for the coaching staff. It really feels like a family here; not just with the players, but with the coaches, too." By starting right away as a freshman offensive lineman at the UW, which is a rare occurrence indeed, Mills has stamped himself as a great player possibly headed for wondrous college and NFL accomplishments.At the same time, he has a playful side to himself with his teammates and an extra relaxed demeanor when answering questions about himself, all of which should make him a fan favorite at some point in his career. Then there's a directness about him that could lead to high-water Husky success, especially with freshmen such as him establishing themselves in the lineup.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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