Star Washington football OL named to Preseason All-American Team
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Washington Huskies sophomore offensive lineman John Mills added another preseason accolade to an ever-growing list heading into the 2026 college football season.
Previously already named as one of two UW players on Phil Steele's preseason All-Big Ten teams, Mills followed up his freshman All-American recognition by being named to the longtime college football pundit's preseason Second Team All-America.
Uniquely enough, the 6-foot-6, 328-pound San Francisco, California native, who played almost exclusively at left guard as a true freshman, was classified as an offensive tackle in a graphic distributed on social media. Not that Mills can't kick outside and play left tackle–in fact, Huskies' coach Jedd Fisch stated exactly as much this spring.
"John Mills can play left tackle. He absolutely can," Fisch said before the start of spring football practices on March 30. "He can play really anywhere on the offensive line. I haven't seen him snap, so let's just say he can play guard and tackle, but (offensive line coach Michael) Switz(er) can probably get him to snap, too."
A former four-star recruit in the 2025 class out of St. Ignatius College Preparatory, Mills proved to be one of the best left guards in the country last season as a true freshman. He earned an 80.2 pass blocking grade from Pro Football Focus last fall as UW quarterback Demond Williams Jr. finished second in the Big Ten Conference in total yards per game.
With incoming freshman Kodi Greene, a five-star recruit out of Mater Dei High School, projected to be UW's starting left tackle this fall, and senior Drew Azzopardi back for a third season with the Huskies at right tackle, it's unlikely the rising sophomore will find himself at either tackle position for an extended period of time.
It's rather more of a testament to simply what the beef steak boss and potential Paul Mitchell hair model is capable of when he throws the pads on to protect Williams Jr. and Co., leading the Huskies' offense.
This article originally appeared on Huskies Wire: Star Washington football OL named to Preseason All-American Team
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