How the Huskies Pulled John Mills From Clutches of Texas

Technically, Chad Ward did this 30 years ago, but he first reclassified as a freshman from 1996 to 1997 and sat out in order to recover from an Achilles injury. He was what was called a gray shirt.

Fisch was asked on Monday what he and his staff did different to get Mills to pass along his regrets to Texas.

The answer was a full-court press, reserved only for special cases.

"We just never stopped recruiting John Mills," Fisch said. "We just wanted to let John Mills know if he changes his mind, that we're there for him. We don't take that approach with everybody. We certainly don't."

Mills' 247Sports recruiting profile shows he received his first scholarship offer on June 18, 2022, from the UW, from Kalen DeBoer's staff.

His timeline shows other offers steadily rolled in from the likes of Arkansas, Michigan, Penn State, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, UCLA and USC.

With Fisch's staff now firmly in place, Mills took an official visit to the UW on June 1, 2024, followed by an OV to Texas 13 days later. His Longhorns commitment to Sarkisian, once a Seattle fixture, came on June 24.

"He wasn't sure who we were," Fisch said of the big Bay Area kid. "We had just got here."

It took the Huskies basically six months to get to know him better and use every feasible recruiting angle to get him to change his mind.

Such as family considerations.

Mills' grandfather, Joe Ryan, played for the Huskies in 1960-63. He was a 6-foot-5, 216-pound reserve two-way tackle from Wenatchee, Washington. Yes, he was more than 100 pounds lighter than Mills in uniform.

Ryan played 76 minutes in 1962 and 192 in 1963, lettering both seasons. As a senior, he was on the UW team that took on Illinois and Dick Butkus and lost 17-7 in the Rose Bowl.

To get Mills to the UW, Fisch's staff reminded him of all those endearing relationships and welcomed the entire family back into the program.

"John Mills had a family connection here," the coach said. "John Mills had a Seattle connection here."

This past April and May, Grandpa Ryan showed up for most spring practices. He sat on a chair almost on top of the offensive-line drills, dangerously close to a lot of Husky humanity running around. His grandson was one of the biggest bodies. Ryan seemed to enjoy himself.

It was alternately a masterful hard and soft sell by the Huskies.

"Other guys you let them know you still care about them and you're not going to take it personal if they choose another place," Fisch said. "On the same token, if they do change their mind, there's always going to be be a spot open for them -- and that's how we approached John."

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