Ernie Mills

For other people named Ernie Mills, see Ernie Mills (disambiguation).
Ernie Mills
No. 89, 85, 80
Position: Wide receiver
Personal information
Date of birth: October 28, 1968
Place of birth: Dunnellon, Florida
Height: 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight: 192 lb (87 kg)
Career information
High school: Dunnellon (FL)
College: Florida
NFL draft: 1991 / Round: 3 / Pick: 73
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Receptions: 196
Receiving yards: 2,934
Touchdowns: 20
Kickoff returns: 80
Return yards: 1,818
Stats at NFL.com
Stats at pro-football-reference.com

Ernest Lee Mills, III (born October 28, 1968) is an American former college and professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for nine seasons during the 1990s. Mills played college football for the University of Florida, and thereafter, he played professionally for the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Carolina Panthers and the Dallas Cowboys of the NFL.

Early years

Mills was born in Dunnellon, Florida in 1968.[1] He attended Dunnellon High School,[2] and played CB/ATH for the Dunnellon Fighting Tigers.

College career

Mills accepted an athletic scholarship in 1986 to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where he was a four-year letterman for coach Galen Hall and coach Steve Spurrier's Florida Gators football teams from 1987 to 1990.[3] Memorably, in 1990, he caught a 70-yard pass thrown by quarterback Shane Matthews from the Gators' own 2-yard-line, setting up a crucial field goal in the Gators' 17–13 victory over the Alabama Crimson Tide.[4] As a senior, Mills was a first-team All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) selection, and a team captain of the Gators squad that finished with a 9–2 overall win-loss record and a best-in-the-SEC record of 6–1.[3] He tied tight end Kirk Kirkpatrick with 770 yards receiving, and led the team with ten touchdowns in 1990.

Mills graduated from the University of Florida with a bachelor's degree in exercise and sport sciences in 1990.

Professional career

The Pittsburgh Steelers selected Mills in the third round (seventy-third pick overall) of the 1991 NFL Draft,[5] and Mills played for the Steelers for six seasons from 1991 to 1996.[6] He had his best NFL season in 1995, when he caught thirty-nine passes for 679 yards, eight touchdowns, and over 2000 all-purpose yards [2] helping the Steelers gain a berth in Super Bowl XXX. Mills subsequently played for the Carolina Panthers in 1997, and the Dallas Cowboys in 1998 and 1999.[6] He finished his nine-year NFL career with 196 receptions for 2,934 yards and twenty touchdowns.[1]

Life after the NFL

Mills was the wide receivers coach for the Jacksonville University football team in Jacksonville, Florida from 2007 to 2012.[7] He is currently the wide receivers coach at Florida A&M University, and has held that position since 2013.[8]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Pro-Football-Reference.com, Players, Ernie Mills. Retrieved July 19, 2010.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 databaseFootball.com, Players, Ernie Mills. Retrieved July 19, 2010.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 2011 Florida Gators Football Media Guide, University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 97, 99, 124, 144–145, 148, 184 (2011). Retrieved August 31, 2011.
  4. ↑ Norm Carlson, University of Florida Football Vault: The History of the Florida Gators, Whitman Publishing, LLC, Atlanta, Georgia, p. 107 (2007).
  5. ↑ Pro Football Hall of Fame, Draft History, 1991 National Football League Draft. Retrieved July 19, 2010.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 National Football League, Historical Players, Ernie Mills. Retrieved July 19, 2010.
  7. ↑ 2008 Jacksonville University Football Media Guide, Coaching Staff, Jacksonville University, Jacksonville, Florida, p. 35 (2008). Retrieved July 22, 2010.
  8. ↑ 2014 FAMU Football Media Guide, Coaching Staff

Bibliography