Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1378330
P enn State added another junior col- lege prospect from Lackawanna when safety Tyrece Mills committed on May 5. Following on the heels of fellow Lack- awanna defensive backs Jaquan Brisker and Ji'Ayir Brown, Mills announced for the Nittany Lions a5er a strong showing in his 3rst few months at the Scranton- based junior college. The Philadelphia native had displayed potential coming out of high school, even earning an o4er from Akron late in the 2020 cycle, but academic issues forced him to go the juco route. Due to the pandemic, this past year was far from ideal, but Mills made the most of limited opportunities, recording 14 tackles, two interceptions and a forced fumble in just two games. Al- though he went under the radar with the media and scouts, Mills has everything that Penn State is looking for in its next junior college prospect. To learn more, Blue White Illustrated recruiting re- porter Ryan Snyder caught up with Lackawanna College head coach Mark Duda to discuss the recent addition to PSU's Class of 2022. BWI What stands out about Tyrece Mills? He's not gotten as much attention as some of the previous players Penn State has taken. What do fans need to know about him? DUDA He's a really versatile guy. I was talking to Coach [James] Franklin [in early May], and I really think he can play any position on the 3eld aside from like nose tackle or a three-tech. First of all, he's a big, physical kid. If you look at him, he looks like he's 30. If you look at him, his body is really developing, so he can play at that level. He can run like a safety, he could play linebacker, he could probably play corner here, too. So he's really a gi5ed athlete. That's one thing that makes him di4erent from every- body else. Also, he's an extremely aggressive kid. He's like Brisker in that regard. We al- ways say that we should have a siren on his helmet to warn his teammates, be- cause when he comes up there, he hits the opponent and his own guys, too. He's just that kind of kid. He wants to blow things up. He also has that ability to 3nd a guy and make a great tackle. We blitz him a little bit, too, which is fasci- nating when you watch him. He's just teasing those guys who really can't block him. One other thing is that he has good ball skills. The son of a gun can go back there and play center3eld and do a really good job of that, too, so he's really versa- tile. He's done this really rapidly, too. He came in and every practice he got better and better and better. We got into our second game, and that's all it took. By that game, we knew he was our best de- fensive player on the 3eld, and that's saying something, for sure. So the kid is just a quality player. He has a great atti- tude about playing and is certainly a super physical guy. BWI When did he get on campus for you guys? The 2020 o4-season impacted I N T E R V I E W M A R K D U D A He simply wants to be there more than just about everyone, and that's really been the key to him' ' FUTURE LION Mills finished with 14 tackles, two intercep- tions and a forced fumble in Lack- awanna's two- game season. Photo courtesy of Lackawanna College