Nebraska Football: Will the Huskers need to replace Dedrick Mills?

We learned why Nebraska football commit Dedrick Mills didn’t sign during the early signing period. But will he still make it or is it time to explore other options?

Things have been up in the air with Nebraska football and 2019 junior college running back Dedrick Mills and now, we have finally found out why.

There were questions surrounding Mills and why he didn’t sign with Nebraska football back on early national signing day. Well, it turns out Mills was in court because he had a warrant out for his arrest after failing to appear to in court according to the Lincoln Journal Star. 

Basically, Mills was cited for driving without a license and didn’t appear in court, which led to the warrant being issued. However, Mills also has a history of getting in trouble, which is why he is playing at a junior college and not Georiga Tech.

Mills ran for 771 yards as a freshman at Georgia Tech but was then dismissed. It’s not clear right now if Mills is still going to sign with Nebraska football or not, but it seems like a pretty minor thing overall.

The lack of discipline is concerning, especially since Mills was arrested in 2018, according to the same report by the Journal Star, for also failing to appear in court. Getting traffic tickets stinks, but not showing up for court shows a lack of responsibility and who knows if head coach Scott Frost wants any more of that.

If the Huskers choose to pass on Mills, it would understandable, however, it would leave a hole at running back. While Nebraska football will have incoming freshman Wandale Robinson and Maurice Washington, Mills was supposed to fill the role of Devine Ozigbo, the power back last season.

So if Mills doesn’t come, Nebraska may need to look for another big back. The grad transfer market is one option but another is John Bivens, a 6-foot-1 running back that is a four-star in the 2019 class. Bivens missed this season due to injury, but Nebraska offered him last February and still appears very interested.

Even if Mills does eventually sign, Bivens would still be a good pickup for Nebraska and with his injury history, a redshirt year wouldn’t be a bad thing. Yet, at the same time, Adrian Martinez didn’t play his senior year of high school football because of injury and he worked out fine.

Now, Mills won’t be able to sign until February but it will be a story worth watching in the coming weeks.