Mills talks Stanford commitment

Stanford landed the commitment of the nation's No. 25 prospect on Tuesday when four-star quarterback Davis Mills delivered a verbal pledge to the Cardinal. Mills picked Stanford over offers from numerous national programs.

Georgia, Michigan, UCLA, Miami and Michigan State were among the schools that were also prominently involved in his recruitment at various stages.

"Probably the biggest factor in the end was weighing out both the academics and football," Mills said. "You're not going to find another school that's ranked top five in the country in both of those. I really thought if football doesn't work out in the end, I'm going to have something that will last me the rest of my life."

Mills informed Stanford of his decision last night before publicizing it on Twitter early this morning.

"I committed last night to Coach Shaw," Mills said. "They were really excited. He didn't know I was ready at the moment, but once I did (commit), they were all set for it, ready for me to be a Cardinal. They were just excited to get me out there in a year-and-a-half."

"They were really talking about building a family. They have a great football program. Especially with the players in the locker room really showing how it's a family environment, that they want to get us out there, you can trust everyone on the team and you can build relationships with everyone and they'll have your back. It's just cool to go somewhere I can fit in and be comfortable with everybody around me."

Mills' decision was also met warmly by friends and community members.

"They're a little sad that I'm going all the way across the country but everyone is really positive," Mills said. "They respect Stanford as a school, so everyone is really happy for me and that I made a great decision."

The four-star prospect's transition into the Cardinal's program could be aided by the fact that the plays in a high school offense that shares similarities to Stanford's.

"It's spread but we pass down the field a lot," Mills said. "It's not really an air raid, but it's not all of the pro-style stuff. But I'm very comfortable taking snaps under center. We do it in my offense in high school. It's kind of a multiple offense. I'm familiar with a lot of the stuff that Stanford runs and I feel like I can fit everything they do."

The Rivals100 standout earned an offer from Stanford following an impressive performance at the program's camp last summer. Later visits for the Oregon game last fall and Junior Day last month cemented the Cardinal's standing atop his list.

"The first time I really got out there it was just nice to meet the coaches and see what the environment around the school was, the football program and definitely seeing how beautiful the campus was and the area around it," Mills said. "And then getting back more and more has just really (assisted in the process of) building relationships with the coaches and seeing how comfortable I was around the players. Doing that for the past three visits was a really big thing to gain my comfort level with the school and just really show that it's the best fit for me."

Mills' most recent visit to Stanford was only a few weeks ago, for the Cardinal's first Junior Day of the 2016 recruiting cycle. The extended time on campus helped Mills gather additional information on what life would be like at Stanford.

"It was just cool to see, that was really the time when I got to hang out with the players and meet them and see really what they thought about the football program," Mills said. "We had a player panel where they really answered stuff without the coaches being in there so you could ask them what they really thought. It was cool to see their honest opinions about everything. It was also cool to get out there with the other recruits - some of them had already been committed and some just committed. It was just cool to see what everyone's opinion was, and it was all positive, because Stanford is a school that really can't be beat with all of the different views on everything. It's just a positive in all aspects."

Now that Mills has committed, he will transition from recruit to recruiter. Four-star wide receiver Tarik Black was among the other visitors on Stanford's Junior Day trip, and he'll be one of the players Mills targets to join the Cardinal's 2017 class.

"Tarik is one of those guys," Mills said. "As a quarterback you want to get a good group of people behind you, with offensive line, running backs, receivers and defense, too. So I have to come up with the players that I'd maybe want to pull with me out there and really get at them and try to pull them to the Cardinal, too."

Mills has been in touch with Stanford defensive coordinator Lance Anderson about the university's admissions process and the possibility of getting started on his application soon. The Greater Atlanta Christian star is a strong student who is considering a major in a business or engineering related field.

"Admissions at Stanford is a big thing," Mills said. "They're being really positive about it, saying that I'm doing really well in high school to prepare myself for a Stanford education, so it will be cool to finally be admitted... hopefully we can get through that process pretty quickly."

The country's No. 2 pro style passer might take his next visit to Stanford for camp this summer. He could also take in a game or two during the 2016 football season.