Mills ready to take next step with Texans

By Aaron Reiss, The Athletic

Stanford head coach David Shaw said he told Mills before the start of Stanford’s abbreviated season that the top of the 2021 QB class was mostly solidified, and Mills didn’t care. He was an academic senior on pace to graduate that year, his closest friends would mostly be gone after that season, and the pandemic still cast uncertainty over the future. Plus, Mills just believed he was ready, and Shaw agreed. The Stanford coach said Mills is one of the most advanced quarterbacks he’s had when it comes to pre-snap reads.

“He knew from everybody that if he came back he would probably be the first or second quarterback going into the season, but that’s not a big deal to him,” Shaw said. “He doesn’t need that adulation. He doesn’t want to prove anything to anybody. He doesn’t care about that stuff. The biggest thing was: Is he ready? Does he have good film?”

Whatever Mills’ limited amount of film lacked, his pro day made up for some of it. With no combine or all-star game opportunities available to Mills, the biggest day of his pre-draft process was a rainy one in Palo Alto. Despite the weather, NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah said Mills “crushed it” in his throwing session.

“He just did what Davis does — cool, calm, collected,” said Morris, the QB’s pre-draft trainer. “No looking down at his hands and saying, ‘Where’s the hand towel?’”

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