SOME QBS PASS ON EARLY ENROLLMENT
Top recruit had no choice at Stanford; other reasons vary
Davis Mills started playing football when he was in sixth grade, and it didn’t take long to determine that he had a knack for passing the ball. After performances at youth camps, he hired a private quarterback coach, and the push was on to become an elite recruit.
Mills has worked on his technique with hours of footwork drills and threeand five- step drops, but with college on the horizon, he wanted to continue to develop another skill that might be harder to teach.
Mills, ranked as the nation’s No. 1 quarterback recruit, was nominated for a program that instructs students in Gwinnett County ( Ga.) on leadership skills and then has them share those skills with their fellow students.
“I really wanted to grow into my role as one of the main team leaders,” he said. “Being chosen for the leadership class really helped in guiding my team, but it was more than sports. It was about school and life and being a successful person and motivating others.”
Mills threw for more than 2,700 yards with 34 touchdowns and one interception in 271 attempts in leading Greater Atlanta Christian to the Georgia AAA title game last fall. After injuring a knee in August, Mills was projected to miss as much as threemonths. Amonth later, he was back on the field.
Mills took a blow to the knee in the state final and opted not to play in the U. S. Army All- American Bowl as a precaution.
Mills will have to wait to show his skills, grit and leadership at the college level. He is committed to Stanford, which does not accept early enrollees, so he won’t arrive until the summer.
Of the top 10 pro- style quarterback recruits in the class of 2017, Mills is one of five who is not already on a college campus. Of the top 10 dual- threat quarterbacks, only three are not enrolled early. The reasons vary: Some high schools won’t allow it, and some players decide it’s better to finish high school on the traditional timetable.
Michigan quarterback commit Dylan McCaffrey said he and his family decided for him not to enroll early after a long talk.
“We were willing to and decided not to,” he said. “We talked with Coach ( Jim) Harbaugh and Coach ( Jedd Fisch, the former Michigan quarterbacks coach who is now UCLA offensive coordinator), and they said to do what we thought was right and that I should get bigger, faster and stronger and they were looking forward to havingme.”
Alabama and LSU each have two highly touted quarterback recruits. Alabama has No. 1 dual- threat quarterback Tua Tagovailoa from Saint Louis ( Honolulu) and Mac Jones, the No. 12 pro- style quarterback from The Bolles School ( Jacksonville). Tagovailoa is on campus; Jones is not. Both could end up sitting for a few years behind Jalen Hurts, who started as a freshman.
LSU has two four- stars in No. 6 prostyle passerMyles Brennan from St. Stanislaus ( Bay City, Miss.) and Lowell Narcisse, the No. 9 dual- threat quarterback from Saint James ( La.). Brennan is not on campus because his high school does not allow early graduation; Narcisse is in Baton Rouge.
Asked if Tagovailoa’s early arrival at Alabama gives him an advantage, Jones said, “Not too much. It’s good he’s there early. Tua is a great kid and I’m looking forward to competing with him. …
“I knew going into my decision that Jalen was going to be the guy. I’m sticking with my decision. … I’m looking forward to having him asmy mentor for the first couple of years. I’mlooking forward to competing and puttingmy head down and getting towork.”
ForMills, there was no choice because of Stanford rules. Senior Ryan Burns’ decision to return to the Cardinal for a fifth year rather than transfer bolsters the depth chart. Keller Chryst, who replaced Burns midway through the season, has a knee injury and likely won’t be ready until the summer. K. J. Costello would have been the only healthy quarterback on campus this spring had Burns not decided to return.
“In terms of competing for a starting job, it’s definitely a disadvantage of not being able to go early and learn the system and get comfortable,” said Barton Simmons, the national recruiting director for 247Sports. “But for Davis, as physically competent and capable as he is, there’s a couple of guys there already that will have a say in who the starting quarterback is.
“The track record that Stanford has with producing and developing quarterback willmake up for the extra semester at another place. Davis comes in about as polished and sharp as it gets. He’s ahead of the curve from even the elite guys.”