Who is Davis Mills? Stanford alum set to make first NFL start for Texans vs. Panthers

  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

Davis Mills got his first taste of the NFL last weekend after an injury to Tyrod Taylor.

On Thursday night against the Carolina Panthers, he'll get his first professional start.

With Taylor now on injured reserve, the Houston Texans announced this week that they're handing the reigns to Mills, a 22-year-old Stanford alumnus whom they selected in the third round of April's NFL draft.

A highly touted quarterback prospect out of high school, Mills has long been viewed as a potential NFL starter, though his journey to this point – starting his first NFL game in Week 3 of his rookie season – has hardly been straightforward.

Here are five things to know about the Texans' new starting quarterback.

A longtime student

Born in Atlanta, Mills comes from a family of athletes; His two older sisters played tennis in college. He picked up football at any early age and got a head start on position-specific training, too. Years before arriving in high school, Mills started working with Tony Ballard, a private quarterback coach, to hone his technique.

"He's also as fundamentally sound as you can find," Ballard told USA TODAY Sports in 2017. "A lot of kids don't have his ability to recognize coverages fast. There is not much in high school football that he hasn't seen or doesn't know how to beat."

It paid off in high school at Greater Atlanta Christian School, where Mills quickly became the starter and put up impressive numbers, including 6,290 career passing yards. In his junior and senior seasons, he threw for 59 touchdowns and just two interceptions.

BACKUP QB RANKINGS: Surveying all 32 teams from best to worst

MORE: Which 0-2 NFL teams still have hope to save their seasons? Ranking all seven by playoff viability

OPINION: Justin Fields could run away with Chicago Bears' starting QB job

Houston Texans quarterback Davis Mills (10) runs with the ball during an NFL football game against the Cleveland Browns, Sunday, Sept. 19, 2021, in Cleveland.
Houston Texans quarterback Davis Mills (10) runs with the ball during an NFL football game against the Cleveland Browns, Sunday, Sept. 19, 2021, in Cleveland.

An elite recruit

Mills was rated a five-star recruit by Scout, Rivals and 247 Sports coming out of high school – and all three of those recruiting services also listed him as the top-ranked quarterback in his class.

Barton Simmons, who was the national recruiting director for 247 Sports at the time, described Mills to USA TODAY Sports as "about as polished and sharp as it gets."

According to 247 Sports, Mills had offers from 28 Power Five programs, including the likes of Alabama, Georgia and Michigan. He ultimately committed to Stanford, citing the school's academic prowess in addition to its football program.

Fleeting chances at Stanford

Despite arriving in Palo Alto as the nation's top quarterback recruit, Mills didn't see the field right away. He redshirted as a freshman, then attempted just two passes in one spot appearance as a sophomore. A string of knee injuries, dating back to his senior season of high school, hampered him along the way.

As a junior, Mills still found himself second on the depth chart behind K.J. Costello. But when Costello was sidelined with a hand injury, Mills stepped in and made six starts, completing 66% of his passes on the year. Costello later transferred to Mississippi State.

Then, in what would have been his first full season as a starter, Mills' senior campaign was limited to five games by the COVID-19 pandemic. He left Stanford for the NFL after making just 11 starts in his college career.

A draft curiosity

With his top-ranked recruiting pedigree but limited collegiate track record, Mills entered April's NFL draft as a bit of a question mark. Some prognosticators thought he could be a late pick in the first round. Others thought he would fall to Day 2.

The Texans weren't originally thought to be in the market for a quarterback. But then starter Deshaun Watson asked to be traded and was later accused of sexual harassment by 22 women during massage sessions in a series of civil lawsuits.

Houston selected Mills in the third round, with the No. 67 overall pick.

"I think Davis is an NFL starter. He’s got the makeup mentally, he’s got the makeup physically," Stanford head coach David Shaw said in a pre-draft news conference. "You go back to the film and what the film tells me is this is an NFL-ready quarterback that rivals those next three (Mac Jones, Justin Fields and Trey Lance). After the top two, he’s right in the mix in my opinion, when you watch the film."

Room to improve

Mills got significant playing time in the preseason and threw twice as many interceptions (four) as touchdowns (two). Yet first-year Texans head coach David Culley told reporters this week that the rookie quarterback also showed signs of maturity in those games – "a lot more maturity than you would probably see in a rookie."

In his first taste of regular-season action last weekend against the Cleveland Browns, Mills completed 8 of 18 passes for 102 yards, with one touchdown and one pick.

"He executed very well," Culley said. "I just think he’ll be a lot more comfortable now, simply because he has been out there and against a very good defensive football team."

Contact Tom Schad at tschad@usatoday.com or on Twitter @Tom_Schad.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Davis Mills: 5 things to know about Houston Texans' new starting QB