Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1468566
BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM JUNE/JULY 2022 23 "That's one of the reasons he got re- cruited," Spagnoli added. "He is always striving to get better for himself and his team. That's not going to change." ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT Former Notre Dame linebacker Kerry Neal is the CEO and a top trainer at WIN Performance in Chicago. Neal and Mills first connected when the latter was in about the eighth grade, and they started training together shorty after that. "Rylie was never satisfied with any success he had," Neal explained. "He asked questions, he put the extra time in. And on top of that, he was a high school kid. He still had to go through all the stuff his high school required of him. He's one of my favorite athletes to train." Neal fought back his laughter while s h a r i n g a s to r y a b o u t h ow M i l l s as a young player grew so fast he had a tough time stay- ing on his oversized feet. "He would fall, a lot, over my foot- work bags, so I started making anybody who fell do 30 pushups. Rylie had to do a lot of 'em," Neal recalled of the Rylie rule. "But he never complained and the next thing you know, he landed scholar- ship offers from about every Power Five school you can imagine." In addition to Notre Dame, Mills' offer sheet included Georgia, Alabama, Clem- son, LSU, Ohio State, Michigan, Okla- homa and too many other schools to list. "True testament," Neal added. "If you work for it, anything can happen." And it's almost fitting that foot- ball didn't necessarily come easily for Mills because the improvement jour- ney seems to drive him more than task completion. "He's one of those rare players who appreciates all the feedback he can get, and he doesn't mind the criticism," Neal said. "He doesn't take any offense. He uses it constructively and it really mo- tivates him." FINDING HIS PLACE At 6-foot-5 and 283 pounds, Mills is big enough to play the three-technique at interior defensive tackle and he's nimble enough to bounce outside and play strong-side defensive end. And with a greater need on the ex- terior of their 2022 defense, the Notre Dame coaches didn't surprise this spring when they moved their budding star outside to the strong-side end spot. Mills made a lasting impression play- ing the position in pinch last season when he notched 2 sacks in an emer- gency start at Virginia. Couple his performance history with the return of graduate student Jayson Ademilola at defensive tackle and Mills jumped to the top of the depth chart this spring to take over the starting edge spot vacated by 2021 graduate Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa. "Playing end really plays to my strengths," Mills said of a position switch that should allow him to im- prove on the 16 tackles and 3 sacks he recorded last season. "It allows me to really use my length on the edge. I have a quick first step and that lets me get right off the ball and to the quarterback." Irish head coach Marcus Freeman didn't commit this spring to naming Mills the defensive end starter opposite All-America candidate Isaiah Foskey on the other side. But it's hard to see anyone unseating Mills after his standout spring season, though it is a position of great depth and strength for Notre Dame. "We're so versatile on the defensive line and schematically in what we do, you can put guys in different positions," Freeman said. Mills was a disruptive force and im- possible to miss during the open prac- tices through March and April before he capped off his spring season with 3 tackles for loss, 1 sack and 1 pass broken up in the Blue-Gold Game. Mills also provides his coaches the luxury of moving him back inside on obvious passing downs, if necessary. "He's a Swiss Army knife. He can play end for us. He can play tackle," Free- man said of Mills. "We have to see who's stepping up on the inside, who's step- ping up on the outside, and figure out where's the best fit." An early enrollee freshman in 2020, Mills is working under his third differ- ent defensive coordinator and his sec- ond position coach in 2022. But even through the coaching churn, Mills' improvement and production has been steady, even if his snaps were mainly situational in a reserve role dur- ing his first two seasons. That won't be the case this year as Mills is arguably the leading Irish can- didate for a breakout season, and the leader of a junior class that will be criti- cal to season success. "Last year, I had a little bit of growth to do, and it got me to where I am right now," Mills said. "I feel like I'm in a good place." And while former Irish defensive line coach Mike Elston was the man previ- ously most involved with Mills as a re- cruiter and position coach, Mills said that he and first- year Notre Dame defensive line coach Al Washington have already built a strong relationship. "We talk about practice and about life, everything that is going on," Mills said. "So, it's been really good having that constant communication." Washington agrees. "[Mills] is texting me, always asking me questions," he said. "He really works at it." And when asked for his first impres- sions of first-year Notre Dame defen- sive coordinator Al Golden, Mills said the new chief brings a unique and di- verse message and approach. "[Golden] treats everyone like a pro. He shows everyone what it's going to be like at the next level," Mills said. "That's the biggest thing because that's where we all want to be." And according to Neal, that's the per- formance track his star pupil and good friend always operates on, be it in mu- sic, juggling, school, football, whatever. "Rylie is at the point now where he's gaining confidence," Neal said. "He's had success when he's played. It's his time to shine, and I'm stoked to see it play out." ✦ "Rylie was never satisfied with any success he had. He asked questions, he put the extra time in. And on top of that, he was a high school kid. He still had to go through all the stuff his high school required of him. He's one of my favorite athletes to train." FORMER IRISH LINEBACKER AND CURRENT WIN PERFORMANCE CEO/TRAINER KERRY NEAL ON MILLS