HE’S IN COMMAND
Players, coaches believe ‘the growth is real’ in second-year quarterback Mills
It was around April, maybe May, when wide receiver Chris Conley first noticed something different about Davis Mills. The second-year Texans quarterback organized an offseason throwing session in Atlanta to work with his receivers on different route combinations and concepts and to build chemistry.
The difference had nothing to do with Mills’ appearance, even the new mustache he would sport in the first week of training camp.
It was something else.
“His command of the workout,” Conley said. “He wasn’t just participating in the workout; he was running the workout. He threw the ball with conviction. He knew what he wanted to do, and he knew where he wanted to place the ball. And if he didn’t get that right, he ran it back.
“I think that was a step forward for him and him really taking ownership of his growth.”
Other teammates have said they noticed it throughout training camp and preseason practices.
Mills, whom the Texans took in the third round of the 2021 NFL draft, has looked more confident than he did in his first season, has made tough throws, and has become one of the unquestioned leaders on the team. That growth and how it translates to the field will be critical for the Texans as they continue to rebuild a franchise that hasn’t won more than four games since the 2019 season.
Their season begins noon Sunday against the Colts.
Quarterback is the most important position on the field, and the Texans have placed their faith in Mills this season.
Lovie Smith has been unwavering in his support of Mills. Before training camp even began, the coach declared him the starter and said he’d vote for him to be a team captain.
“Everything you can do as a young quarterback he’s done, and he’s ready to take that next step,” Smith said. “We’re going to give him all the tools that we think are necessary for him do to well, and that’s not just offensively. That’s how we play defense and special teams.”
How Mills performs this year will likely determine the future of this franchise and how it approaches next year’s draft, even if the Texans aren’t ready to say that out loud. If he struggles and the Texans have a high draft choice, they could choose a quarterback in the 2023 draft. If he succeeds, they could continue to build around him.
“I think I still have a lot to prove,” Mills told the Chronicle. “Obviously, I am the starter, so I’m preparing that way, and I’m preparing to have it be that way for a long time.”
His teammates and coaches say they see a new person. He looks ready.
The story in his eyes
Linebacker Kevin PierreLouis said when Mills was a rookie, all one had to do was follow his eyes. Most times, wherever Mills was looking, that was where he was going to throw the football.
Now he’s disguising things and looking players off, PierreLouis said.
That’s what good quarterbacks do. They make you think they’re going one way, then go the other way.
“The growth is real,” PierreLouis said. “His ball placement. Him going through his reads. You can tell he’s a lot more comfortable. He’s going to be someone you have to respect.”
Mills wasn’t expected to start last season, but an injury to Tyrod Taylor caused the Texans to turn to the rookie. Mills struggled initially. He had a four-interception game in a 40-0 loss to the Bills in his second start.
But he steadily improved as the season progressed, throwing nine touchdowns and only two interceptions in his final five games.
That progress has continued.
“(His) mechanics were really good,” backup quarterback Kyle Allen said of watching Mills last season. “Seeing him throughout the year, he looked good, so kind of seeing him in practice and in preseason, I’m not really surprised. I’m just excited to see what happens.”
Mills was purposeful about improving in the offseason, whether that was on the field or simply developing chemistry with his teammates. Aside from the throwing session he had with them in Atlanta, he also hosted one in Oregon.
The Texans had one of the worst offenses in the NFL in 2021, ranking last in total yards per game (278) and third-worst in points per game (16.5). Part of that had to do with lack of success in the running game. In 17 games, the Texans rushed for 1,422 yards and only eight touchdowns.
They sought to fix those issues, drafting Dameon Pierce in the fourth round and promoting Pep Hamilton to offensive coordinator. That should take some of the pressure off Mills, who was too often faced with thirdand-long situations last season.
Texans quarterbacks coach Ted White, an offseason hire, still remembers the first conversation he had with Mills when he met with him in the spring. Mills handed White a sheet of paper with all the things he wanted to accomplish this season. White wants to keep the specifics between him and Mills, but he noticed Mills had something to prove.
“It wasn’t about stats. It wasn’t about how many yards or how many touchdowns he throws for. It was more about leadership and what it’s going to
take to right the ship,” White said. “He gave me a plan … and when I looked at it, all of it equaled wins.”
That impressed White most. “He understood that he wanted to win ballgames and (that) quarterbacks are judged on how many games they win,” White said. “You look at Tom Brady or Aaron Rodgers — those guys are about winning. And when it’s all said and done, I think Davis Mills will be in that conversation.”
Multi-sport background
When Mills was 6 and playing little league football, coaches and parents of other children used to tell Steve Mills and his wife, Dawn: “Your son is going to be playing on Sundays.”
Steve, an attorney, said he’d laugh it off and take what they were saying with a grain of salt.
But the 6-year-old Davis was often doing things normal kids his age weren’t doing. He played safety and quarterback, and opposing teams rarely scored when they came his way.
Steve remembers one play in particular on which Davis made a tackle in the hole, lifting his young foe off his feet and planting him into the ground. He ran over to his dad after the play and told him, “Dad, that was just like ‘The Fridge,’ ” referring to former Chicago Bears defensive tackle William “Refrigerator” Perry.
Mills, who is from Atlanta, was a multi-sport athlete growing up, playing football, basketball, baseball, soccer and tennis. He played AAU basketball with future NBA players Wendell Carter and Collin Sexton in sixth grade and placed fourth in nationals that year.
Mills said his specialties were shooting, slashing and defending.
He was also a black belt in Choi Kwang Do, a form of martial arts.
But when he got to high school, Mills found out football was his passion. He said he loved the team aspect of the game and how players count on each other to be successful.
“I don’t think you get really that dynamic in any other sport where if one person out of the 11 isn’t doing their job, there is a big flaw on each play,” he said. “That’s pretty cool about it.”
But that love once wavered. When Mills was a senior in high school at Greater Atlanta Christian, he tore his ACL in a game. Nine months later, after rehabbing it, he tore it again in a practice at Stanford. Mills said that was the toughest thing he’s had to overcome in his life. During the downtime, he often questioned himself and whether he wanted to continue to play football.
But he realized this was his dream.
And he kept fighting until he was back on the field.
‘Strictly business’
Stanford coach David Shaw said he knew when Mills was a junior in high school that he’d be a professional quarterback.
Shaw remembers the first time he visited Greater Atlanta Christian in Norcross, Ga., just outside Atlanta. He sat down with Mills’ high school coach, Tim Hardy, for a film session. One game was all Shaw needed to see. He saw how Mills handled pressure, how he escaped the pocket and threw from his right and to his left. He saw
Mills run a two-minute drill. He saw him bounce back from difficult plays and keep his composure in a high-pressure game and thought, “Wow. This kid has moxie.”
“And it all looked smooth,” Shaw said. “He was never out of sorts.”
That translated at Stanford. Shaw said Mills was mature for his age. And intelligent. Not the loudest guy but confident.
“He gets your attention, talks to players, means what he says,” Shaw said. “He’s not the loudest guy, but he’s also not shy. He’s got confidence, brings a little swagger to the huddle, and I think guys respond to that.”
“He’s strictly business,” wide receiver Nico Collins said.
But once you get to know him, he opens up. And he’s been doing that of late.
He likes technology, computers and video games. What he doesn’t like is losing. Mills said he wants to be the best.
“If I go out and somebody can do something that I can’t, it’s going to piss me off,” he said. “I’m going to do whatever I can to one-up them. That’s what I’m here for. That’s what I train for.”
That’s what’s motivating him this season. He has seen what people are saying on social media — that the Texans will have another losing season — and he wants to help Houston turn things around. He wants to be the solution and prove doubters wrong.
Does he feel any pressure? “Yeah, there’s always pressure,” Mills said. “I think everybody feels pressure. It’s how you handle it and how you perform.”