UW's John Mills Singled Out for Initial Individual Accolade

Originally posted on Washington Huskies on SI
By Dan Raley | Last updated Aug 20, 2025 6:08 PM ET

John Mills might as well be called General Mills for all of the influence he's wielded since joining the University of Washington football team.

Stand up and salute this guy.

Of maybe eat a bowl of cereal in his honor.

Speaking of caloric intake, the 6-foot-6 Mills from San Francisco showed up as a freshman so much bigger than expected, packing north of 350 pounds.

The Huskies generally take first-year players like him and summarily banish them to the weight room for a year or more to get bigger and stronger before they can play on Saturdays.

With Mills, they asked him to become notably lighter while making plans for him to join the offensive-line competition in a serious, immediate manner.

All of this has gone well, so much that 247Sports on Wednesday named him as a preseason true freshman All-America selection.

The 247Sports Preseason True Freshman All-America Team for 2025.

Via @chris_hummer https://t.co/5yUiF6Yjez pic.twitter.com/raYuLhropr
— 247Sports (@247Sports) August 20, 2025

No reason to stop there.

Right out of the gate, Mills stands to become the Huskies' starting left offensive guard, no small feat for a player as young as him.

However, this big kid has walked in and acted like he owns the place, which is what the great players do.

Rather than be the starstruck or intimidated frosh, Mills has come in and from the start acted like he belongs, poking and prodding and joking with the upperclassmen as if he was as old as them.

Rather than put on weight room heft, he has proceeded to drop 20-25 pounds, bringing him to the 330 level, which still makes him the Huskies' heaviest starting lineman by a wide margin if he earns the right to open against Colorado State in the season opener.

The Huskies scored with Mills right away by flipping him from his commitment to Texas and former UW coach Steve Sarkisian.

From the Huskies' mock game, he emerged as a projected starter requiring no seasoning period before taking on huge responsibility.

Mills was praised by coach Jedd Fisch for handling himself well that night after trimming down and making himself able to run faster.

This sort of career progression strongly suggests he might be capable of claiming all sorts of individual honors down the line, not to mention receiving plenty of NFL Draft consideration when it's time. Or before it's time.

Yet for now, he stands to be one of the most decorated freshman football players anywhere across the college landscape.

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This article first appeared on Washington Huskies on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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