JUCO RB Dedrick Mills a 'next level' back, according to coach
Scott Frost and his new staff at Nebraska are always on the prowl for potential difference-makers to plug into their high-powered offense, and they believe they have found such a player in junior college running back Dedrick Mills.
The 6-foot, 200-pound Mills attended the Huskers' Red-White spring game in April and they continue to pursue him over the subsequent summer months.
"They stuck with him the whole time," Garden City (Kan.) C.C. head Coach Jeff Sims said, while adding, "but what people need to understand is the reason I've had so many good players go to Nebraska is because first, the Pelinis were at Nebraska and I have a personal relationship with Carl Pelini. Now, Scott Frost is there and I have a personal relationship with Jovan Dewitt.
"Well, because I have a personal relationship with these guys and they know me, we usually can cut out about three layers of coaching contacts. So, when I called them to say, 'Hey man, this guy’s pretty special,' they listened to me.
"And I hope Nebraska fans take this the right way: Nebraska is a special, special place to play, but I think it's a very, very, very difficult place to recruit to. Because it's not in a state that has a lot of talent and you have to convince guys to come to Nebraska when a lot of the talent is in Florida or Georgia or Texas and they tend to go to the closer schools. So, when Nebraska finds a guy who is truly special, they jump on it."
Coming out of high school, Mills had scholarship offers from the likes of Alabama, Florida State, Auburn, Arkansas, South Carolina, Tennessee, and several others before signing with the Rambling Wreck. As a true freshman at Georgia Tech, he rushed for nearly 800 yards and 12 touchdowns. In his first game this season for Garden City, Mills had 267 yards rushing with three touchdowns.
"Dedrick is an incredible football player, and I say that with the mentality of undersell and over—deliver," Coach Sims stated emphatically. "He is just special. I have had four All-American tailbacks and he's as good as any of them.
"Look, I've had four of my guys [from Fort Scott (Kan.) C.C.] start at Nebraska with two of them drafted in the second round, and the reality is he'll fit right in with those guys. Dedrick is a next level dude."
Mills came to Garden City C.C. from Georgia Tech where he was dismissed from the team after a violation of team rules. That's all behind him now, according to his head coach Jeff Sims.
"He's an even better person than a player, and he's fantastic to be around," Sims stated. "He was dismissed from Georgia Tech, but he's a wonderful dude. It was a youthful mistake, and it's very hard on 18, 19 and 20-year olds these days because they do things that all of us did when we were that age, but now it's stuck on google and you can't shake it.
"And some people will not give them a path to redemption. Anybody who makes mistakes should be punished and then given a way to get back in the good graces of society. Right now, we're good at giving people the scarlet letter, but we're not giving them the opportunity to rehabilitate themselves or a way to find themselves back into good graces."
The Broncbusters have other players that Nebraska is recruiting and is interested in, but Mills is without a doubt one of the best players on their team this season in the eyes of Coach Sims.
"He was built to be a running back," Sims opined. "He's incredibly hard to tackle and he has a natural vision. He knows how to run the football. I've coached four All-Americans at running backs and he's as good as any of them. We have another running back here who's a great player in Charles West. There's just a way that Dedrick sees it, and when he gets on the second level he is so hard to tackle."
Mills, who picked NU over other scholarship offers from Memphis and Arkansas State, as well as interest from many other programs, will have two years to complete two seasons of eligibility on the Division I level.
"The goal is to have him graduate in December and, as far as eligibility at Nebraska, he will be a two for two guy," Sims shared. "He used his redshirt last year with us when he broke his collarbone on a 51-yard run. That kid's a great, great kid and he will be a difference-maker at the University of Nebraska."
Mills becomes the 16th known commitment to Nebraska's 2019 recruiting class, and the third running back added for this cycle. He has already scheduled his official visit to Lincoln for the November 17 game against Michigan State.
