Mills

[lv20gt]

What I'm saying is that right now we have very to judge Mills by. Johnson's comments tell us that Mills is likely the best of the group of back ups who haven't played much, but with a true soph being the penciled in starter with no real competition (in terms of returning production), I don't think you can immediately take at face value Johnson talking up a true freshman pushing the starter. Again, maybe Mills really is that good, I just don't think we have much to go on either way at the moment.

 

[prifle2]

I don't know. I think the one thing CPJ is is a straight shooter. Much more so than other coaches Good or bad everytime "we" think he's giving us coach speak or trying to keep the team from getting comfortable or whatever, in retrospect we find out he was not sending a message, he was just answering questions asked as honestly as possible and that's why his kids love him so much. He gives it to the straight.

If he's speaking highly of Mills this much, this early, I will take his word for it. He never spoke highly of the veteran bbacks last year other than to say someone would get the bal . Mills and Marshall may be a great combo that we could have for 3 years..

 

[Whiskey_Clear]

Fwiw CPJ has been saying MM is our starter currently.

 

[RamblinCharger]

Even if he isn't as good as Marshall but gets significant playing time I would be impressed. I think Marshall is really good. Yes he needs to work on things, but he has a ton of talent. If mills gets at least 8-10 carries per game I think we'll have one of our best BB groups ever for the next 3 years.

 

[Boomergump]

Is Mills fast? I don't even know. As far as I remember, he never really popped into the secondary in the spring game.

 

[Dustman]

I'm in the CPJ tells it like it is camp. He told us yesterday that he was mostly paying attention to what the O line and B Backs were doing. If he likes what he sees in Mills ( and Benson to a lesser extent) then I'm a happy camper.

 

[ATL1]

For what it's worth Mills top run was 15.36 in the 110m hurdles.


http://www.athletic.net/TrackAndField/Athlete.aspx?AID=7170497#/L0

 

[99jacket]

Only time will tell what Dedrick's potential is. However, I live in Waycross where Dedrick is from and know him. I can tell you that he has changed a lot for the better since he has enrolled at Tech. First, he has gotten a lot stronger in the weight room and you can see it especially in his torso. He was no weight room slouch to begin with either. The thing that excites me most though is the maturity he has gained. You can tell when you talk to him that he is taking the opportunity at Tech seriously. I hope it all falls into place for him because he is putting in the work necessary to make it happen.

 

[Longestday]

I am going through the spring game and Mills can pass block!

 

[UgagSucks]

Only time will tell what Dedrick's potential is. However, I live in Waycross where Dedrick is from and know him. I can tell you that he has changed a lot for the better since he has enrolled at Tech. First, he has gotten a lot stronger in the weight room and you can see it especially in his torso. He was no weight room slouch to begin with either. The thing that excites me most though is the maturity he has gained. You can tell when you talk to him that he is taking the opportunity at Tech seriously. I hope it all falls into place for him because he is putting in the work necessary to make it happen.

I graduated from Ware County High down in Waycross in 1998. My dad still lives there and I now live up in the Atlanta suburbs. I talked with Dedrick about our "Waycross roots" at Fan Day. He seems like a kid who is focused!

 

[Longestday]

I was looking for some good video in the spring game. I cannot find any where I say Mills was using some lighting fast speed or moves or even power to make yards. What I did see was a brand new BB that new where to go, how to go, and showed some "vision" to make positive yards. He also blocked well on passing plays. Mills showed a very high football IQ to function so well with so little time in the offense.

 

[Boomergump]

For what it's worth Mills top run was 15.36 in the 110m hurdles.


http://www.athletic.net/TrackAndField/Athlete.aspx?AID=7170497#/L0

I don't even know if 15.36 is considered fast in that event.

 

[RocketJacket]

I don't even know if 15.36 is considered fast in that event.

World Record is 12.8 so that's not bad for a high schooler. Not bad at all.

 

[takethepoints]

For what it's worth, Smith almost came to Tech. Coach Dodd kept telling him that he was perfect for us and it was the truth.

All through his career, I kept watching him and thinking of what might have been. If Mills is that kind of back, we can rest easy about his position for several years.

But that, of course, remains to be seen.

 

[InsideLB]

I am going through the spring game and Mills can pass block!

Exactly! IMO The real buzz on Mills isn't that he is a lights out runner. He is a good runner, blocker, and receiver who understands what they want him to do and is consistently doing it while taking care of the football.....all as a tr-fr! When was the last time you saw that?

Just a really smooth athlete and physically is ready too. Not a burner, but fast enough like Laskey or Days. Must be very coachable to get it all so quickly.

 

[99jacket]

I think Dedrick's speed will be fine. He doesn't run a 4.4 but much like Dwyer I have never seen him get run down from behind either. This kid is a grinder and baller.

 

[99jacket]

Exactly! IMO The real buzz on Mills isn't that he is a lights out runner. He is a good runner, blocker, and receiver who understands what they want him to do and is consistently doing it while taking care of the football.....all as a tr-fr! When was the last time you saw that?

Just a really smooth athlete and physically is ready too. Not a burner, but fast enough like Laskey or Days. Must be very coachable to get it all so quickly.

Dedrick's High School coach has been Franklin Stephens the last two seasons. (Won 2 State Championships at Tucker and coached the Austin twins and Qua Searcy too) I have never been around a HS coach with more passion for excellence and an eye for detail. Dedrick has been taught to train hard, be an excellent team player and to never take an opportunity for granted. It is a testament to the coaches as well the character Dedrick has developed. He still has a ways to go but he is off to a great start.

 

[g0lftime]

In 2014 we had two BB's that hit the hole really fast with power. They ran through a lot of arm tackles at the LOS. I did not see that last year. The holes weren't there most of the time (no Shaq?). It is possible that defenses have changed the way they clog the middle to take away that option and then flood the wide side to break up the pitch. I sure hope the coaches have come up with some ways to punish that philosophy.

 

[dressedcheeseside]

In 2014 we had two BB's that hit the hole really fast with power. They ran through a lot of arm tackles at the LOS. I did not see that last year. The holes weren't there most of the time (no Shaq?). It is possible that defenses have changed the way they clog the middle to take away that option and then flood the wide side to break up the pitch. I sure hope the coaches have come up with some ways to punish that philosophy.

There is no defensive alignment, attack or strategy CPJ hasn't seen and planned for. The problem that defenses face with us is when you divert assets to help out in one area, you create weaknesses and mismatches in another. We, on the other hand, can't have weaknesses of our own if we hope to take advantage of those mismatches. If we make the corrects reads and make our blocks, we should have a numbers advantage every running play or a one-on-one in the passing game. The key is being able to make our reads and blocks.

There are also some presnap calls (no reads) where we hope the defense hasn't guessed right and stacked assets to stop it. That's the whole chess match between coordinators and sometimes you win those and sometimes you don't.

 

[txsting]

It sounds like Mills is a great recruit, but let's not get carried away too much. August 2015 CPJ: "I'm excited about our Bbacks that we have there. I think that Marcus Marshall and MLD, they both look really good. " Remember that MM did not beat out Skov in camp, also. We have some good talent, but the bar is not real high at the moment.

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