Zack Mills

Last updated

Zachary Eric Mills (born May 1, 1982) is a former American football quarterback. He was an All-Big Ten selection and four-year starter at Penn State University.

Contents

High school

Mills attended Urbana High School with Nate A. Foster in Frederick County, Maryland from 1996 to 2000, where he led the school's football team to consecutive 2A state championships in 1998 and 1999, going undefeated both years. In the course of his high school career he broke Maryland public school records both for passing yards (5,638) and touchdown passes (59) and won countless awards including first team All-CMC and first team All-Mid-Maryland. Mills was also a standout on the basketball team.

College

As the quarterback of the Nittany Lions from 2001 to 2004, Mills led the team to the Capital One Bowl in the 2002 season. Mills was a three-time Davey O'Brien Award finalist and was presented with the 2004 Hall Foundation Award as Penn State's outstanding senior football player. In 2002 Mills was named All-Big Ten.

Mills holds many Penn State passing and total offense records: He finished his career with a school record 7,796 yards of total offense, 41 career touchdown passes (since broken by Daryll Clark, Matt McGloin, Christian Hackenberg, and Trace McSorley, and 16 career 200-yard passing games. Mills is the first Nittany Lion under head coach Joe Paterno to throw, catch, and run for a touchdown in a single game (in 2004 versus Akron). He wore jersey number 7.

He graduated in 2004 with a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology.

NFL

Mills spent the 2005 preseason in the Washington Redskins' training camp as an undrafted free agent, but was released before the season began. He pulled his hamstring early in camp and the injury prevented Mills from participating in most drills. He wore jersey number 14.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers

Mills signed with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers of the af2, a minor league of the Arena Football League in the Spring of 2007 but left the team a few weeks later. [1]

Coaching

In 2006, Mills served as an assistant coach at Temple under first-year head coach (and fellow Penn State alumnus), Al Golden. He joined the coaching staff at The Haverford School in Haverford, Pennsylvania as quarterbacks coach in 2007, leaving the team after the 2010 season.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Robinson (fullback)</span> American football player (born 1983)

Burton Michael Robinson is an American former professional football player who was a fullback in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the fourth round of the 2006 NFL Draft. He is currently an analyst for the NFL Network and NBC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anthony Morelli</span> American football player (born 1985)

Anthony Michael Morelli is a former American football quarterback. He was signed by the Arizona Cardinals as an undrafted free agent in 2008. He played college football at Penn State.

The 2004 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented the Pennsylvania State University in the 2004 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team's head coach was Joe Paterno. It played its home games at Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania.

The 2003 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented the Pennsylvania State University in the 2003 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team's head coach was Joe Paterno. It played its home games at Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania.

The 2002 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented the Pennsylvania State University in the 2002 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team's head coach was Joe Paterno. It played its home games at Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania.

The 2008 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented the Pennsylvania State University in the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by Joe Paterno and played its home games in Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania.

Daryll Lawrence Clark is a former American football quarterback. He was signed by the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a free agent in 2010. He played collegiately for the Penn State Nittany Lions. From 2005 until 2009, Clark was the Nittany Lions' all-time passing touchdowns leader, as well as numerous other passing records. Clark was recruited to Penn State out of Ursuline High School in Youngstown by way of The Kiski School in Saltsburg, Pennsylvania. Clark has also been a member of the Omaha Nighthawks, Chicago Rush and Myrtle Beach Freedom.

The 2009 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented the Pennsylvania State University in the 2009 college football season. The team was coached by Joe Paterno and played its home games in Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania. Penn State had the highest graduation rate among all of the teams on the Associated Press Top 25 poll with 89% of its 2002 enrollees graduating. Miami and Alabama tied for second place with a graduation rate of 75%. The Nittany Lions finished the season with an 11–2 record and won the Lambert-Meadowlands Trophy award to the best team in the ECAC for the 28th time and the second consecutive year.

The 2010 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented the Pennsylvania State University in the 2010 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by Joe Paterno and played its home games in Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania. They were members of the Big Ten Conference. Team captains for the season were wide receiver Brett Brackett and defensive tackle Ollie Ogbu.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2004 Purdue Boilermakers football team</span> American college football season

The 2004 Purdue Boilermakers football team represented Purdue University during the 2004 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was coached by Joe Tiller and played its home games at Ross–Ade Stadium. Purdue played twelve games in the 2004 season, finishing with a 7–5 record and a loss in the Sun Bowl to Arizona State. The season was Kyle Orton's senior year at Purdue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matt McGloin</span> American football player (born 1989)

Matthew James McGloin is a former American football quarterback. He was the starting quarterback for the Penn State Nittany Lions football team from 2010 to 2012. McGloin was the first walk-on quarterback to start at Penn State since scholarships were reinstated in 1949.

The 2011 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented the Pennsylvania State University in the 2011 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by Joe Paterno for the first nine games until he was fired in the wake of the Penn State sex abuse scandal, with defensive coordinator Tom Bradley taking over as interim head coach for the remainder of the season. The team played its home games in Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania, US. They were members of the Big Ten Conference in the newly formed Leaders Division. They finished the season 9–4, 6–2 in the Leaders Division to be co–division champions with Wisconsin. Due to their head-to-head loss to Wisconsin, they did not represent the division in the inaugural Big Ten Championship Game. They were invited to the TicketCity Bowl where they lost to Houston 14–30.

The 2012 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented the Pennsylvania State University in the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by Bill O'Brien in his first season and played its home games in Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania, US. It was a member of the Big Ten Conference and played in the Leaders Division. Penn State was ineligible to play in a bowl game for the 2012 season due to sanctions imposed in wake of the Penn State child sex abuse scandal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christian Hackenberg</span> American football player (born 1995)

Christian Blaize Hackenberg is a former American football quarterback and current quarterbacks coach for Winslow Township High School. He played college football at Penn State, and was selected by the New York Jets in the second round of the 2016 NFL Draft. Hackenberg spent two seasons with the Jets before being released, becoming only the third quarterback selected in the first or second round of the common-draft era not to play a game in his first two seasons. He was also a member of the Oakland Raiders, Philadelphia Eagles, and Cincinnati Bengals, although he never actually played in an NFL game.

The 2014 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented Pennsylvania State University in the 2014 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was led by first year head-coach James Franklin and played its home games in Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania. It was a member of the Big Ten Conference and played in the newly organized East Division. Penn State was ineligible to play in a bowl game due to NCAA sanctions imposed in wake of the Penn State child sex abuse scandal. However, on September 8, 2014, the NCAA announced that Penn State would again be eligible for post-season games, effective immediately. Penn State had a 7–6 overall record for the season with a 2–6 conference mark, placing sixth in the Big Ten East Division. The Nittany Lions concluded the season with a victory in the Pinstripe Bowl over Boston College.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trace McSorley</span> American football player (born 1995)

Richard Thomas "Trace" McSorley III is an American football quarterback who is a free agent. He played college football at Penn State, and was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the sixth round of the 2019 NFL Draft.

Ricky Rahne is an American football coach and former player who is currently the head coach at Old Dominion University. He played college football at Cornell.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sean Clifford</span> American football player (born 1998)

Sean Burke Clifford is an American football quarterback for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Penn State. He was the starting quarterback and team captain for the Nittany Lions from 2019 through 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Journey Brown</span> American football player (born 1999)

Journey Jay Brown is a former American football running back. He played college football for the Penn State Nittany Lions. He is now a pit crew member for Trackhouse Racing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drew Allar</span> American football quarterback (born 2004)

Drew Patrick Allar is an American football quarterback who currently plays for the Penn State Nittany Lions.

References

  1. Garvey, Mike (2007-02-12). "Pioneers get their man at QB". The Scranton Times Tribune.