For many football players in Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) competition, leaving their current team for a new one can be a challenge.
But newly-committed Carleton Ravens quarterback Jesse Mills said he sees it as less of a challenge and more as an opportunity.
“It feels great,” Mills said about his recruitment. “It’s a really good opportunity to start something new and be [with the organization] from the start. It’ll be a lot of fun, I think.”
Mills’ excitement at the prospect of a fresh start is understandable, given the issues that transpired over the off-season with the Saint Mary’s Huskies, his former team.
Then-Huskies head coach Steve Sumarah was informed Dec. 5 that his contract would not be renewed for the 2012 CIS season. This news was particularly difficult for Mills because of the close relationship he had built with Sumarah, who has since been hired by the Ravens.
“As the recruiting process heated up, as he got older, I got to know him,” Sumarah said. “My family got to know his family. It became one of those natural fits.”
“I went to SMU in the beginning mainly for [Sumarah],” Mills added.
The quarterback’s frustration at the sudden managerial change was only intensified by the fact that there was no imminent news in regards to hiring a new coach at Saint Mary’s.
Carleton, meanwhile, wasted no time in hiring Sumarah for the vacant head coach position. This hiring got the ball rolling for Mills, as he made his displeasure with Saint Mary’s known.
“Because of the way the rules are, I couldn’t approach him,” Sumarah said. “But he talked to me and said, ‘I’d be interested in looking at this possibility.’ He came up for a visit and was sold right away.”
Sumarah’s hiring was a decision that strongly influenced his desire to join the Ravens, according to Mills.
“For him to go there, it was huge,” Mills said.
Getting Mills on the Ravens’ roster is pretty “huge,” too. Widely considered to be one of the elite young quarterbacks in the CIS, Mills dominated in his time as pivot for Citadel High School in Halifax. After being recruited to Saint Mary’s, he put up some impressive numbers in his rookie campaign with the Huskies, including four touchdown passes, 764 passing yards, and only one loss in four starts.
Though he also racked up an even 100 yards rushing in those four games, Mills acknowledged that his real strength lies in his passing game.
“I like to stay in the pocket and throw the ball,” he said. “I won’t hesitate to run, I guess, if it comes up, but I like to throw the ball . . . give it to the playmakers,” he added with a laugh.
CIS regulations require Mills to sit out a year of interuniversity football, but Mills said that the timing of his transfer “works out pretty well,” given that the Ravens don’t hit the field until the 2013 CIS season. He added that, at first, knowing that he’d have to sit out a year caused him some hesitation about transferring schools.
“But then, I realized I could play in junior,” Mills said. “So, I’m going to play for the Ottawa Sooners [of the Canadian Junior Football League] and then, next year is when the [Carleton Ravens] team starts up.”
The Sooners hope Mills is able to keep up the torrid pace he maintained at Saint Mary’s, and the star quarterback echoed these hopes that his level of play would transfer well to the Sooners.
“I learned a lot in the first year, so hopefully I can carry that over,” he said.
“He’s still a youngster, as they say,” Sumarah added. “It’ll put him in a leadership role, and we’re going to need those kind of guys the following year. We’re not going to be able to survive with a bunch of 17- and 18-year olds.”
Another selling point for Mills, in terms of deciding to play for Carleton, was the possibility of taking to the field with a childhood friend and former Citadel High School teammate. Running back Dechaun Beals, who also committed to the Sooners next year with an eye towards joining the Ravens in 2013, brings even more familiarity to the team.
“It’ll be awesome. We have really good chemistry,” Mills said. “Him and I have been playing together since we were [in] grade four or five.”
“These guys are going to set the bar of where this team is going to go, going forward,” Sumarah said. “That’s the kind of culture we’re looking for.”
Mills said he hopes to make it to the big leagues one day, citing playing in the NFL or the CFL as “a dream of [his].” In the interim, though, Mills figures to be a major contributor to the Ravens’ football program when it gets underway and, much like his favourite NFL player, Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow, will likely be a fan favourite.
Does that mean Ravens fans can expect Mills to take part in the trend of ‘Tebow-ing’ after scoring a touchdown?
“You never know,” Mills laughed.
