'One way or another': How Notre Dame DT Rylie Mills drove to Orange Bowl in an RV, sparking trip to national championship

Rylie Mills was cleared to drive to Miami Gardens, Fla. for the Orange Bowl, but he and his family had to get creative.

The team plane was not an option. He was fewer than three weeks removed from season-ending knee surgery, and in that window, flying triggered a risk of blood clots. A regular car wasn’t an option, either. At 6-foot-5, 295 pounds, the graduate student Notre Dame defensive tackle wasn’t going to fit.

Not comfortably, at least, while he couldn’t bend his knee.

Mills’ mom, Kristina Mills, doesn’t recall who first had the idea. But when he and his family spoke to team orthopedic surgeon Dr. Brian Ratigan about the idea, they told him, “We’re thinking RV.”

Ratigan approved. And that’s exactly what the Mills family did.

At approximately 4 a.m. ET on Tuesday, Jan. 7, Mills, his mom, his dad Troy Mills and his girlfriend Nicole Leon piled into a recreational vehicle. They had a designated driver, too: Paul Grilo, Troy Mills’ friend and a firefighter with experience driving fire trucks, which translated to the RV.

The drive from South Bend to South Florida lasted 21 hours. It was worth every second for the Notre Dame captain.

“I was like, ‘Alright,” Mills told Blue & Gold. “I’m gonna get down there one way or another.”

Stabbed with a crutch

Junior Notre Dame defensive tackle Donovan Hinish was playing pop-a-shot during a period of downtime at the team hotel. All of a sudden, he felt something — in his words — stab him in the back.

Confused, Hinish turned around as quickly as he could. It was Mills, who had poked him with one of his crutches. Hinish was shocked. Neither he nor any of his teammates had any idea Mills would be at the game.

“Oh, it was sick,” Hinish said. “It just shows his commitment to the team and how much of a leader he really is. If he’s willing to drive, I think it was like 21 hours or something crazy to come down and support his team, even if he’s not playing, that’s just the kind of guy he is.”

Of course, Mills wishes he could have played in the Orange Bowl or Monday night’s national championship game. He had that opportunity taken away from him on Dec. 20.

Shortly after Notre Dame beat Indiana in the first round of the College Football Playoff, Irish head coach Marcus Freeman went on SportsCenter with ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt. The hot topic was Mills, who crumpled to the ground and grabbed at his knee after sacking Hoosiers quarterback Kurtis Rourke in the third quarter.

Freeman told Van Pelt that there was optimism for his leading sack artist. That was real. The team, Mills’ family and Mills himself genuinely believed his injury wasn’t too serious, and that he wouldn’t miss the rest of the CFP.

The next day, his MRI crushed them.

“It was shocking,” Kristina Mills said. “It just took a little bit to sink in, and then afterward, I think more of the emotions or the reality of it started to hit.”

“It just kind of breaks your heart,” Rylie Mills said.

He did not make the trip to the New Orleans, where the Irish beat Georgia in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 2. However, when they met with Ratigan early that next week, he was feeling better. Ratigan was surprised — Kristina Mills recalls him saying, “Woah! Wow, that’s great!” — and the family wanted to know what was possible.

Mills could continue his treatment with the team trainers in Florida, Ratigan explained. He even took it one step further than that.

“I’m doing my rehab and mobility stuff in the back [of the RV], and the whole truck is going back and forth and I’m trying not to fall over,” Mills said. “It was definitely a little hectic.”

Grilo drove the whole way, and Mills sat in the back with Leon and his parents. They did the majority of the trip on Day 1, staying overnight in Panacea, Fla. (a small town near Tallahassee).

“We all got real close,” Mills said.

The trip was not easy, particularly on the way back when a winter storm came through their route. When Mills had to use the restroom or the family stopped for gas, ice patches on the ground were cause for concern.

“It was a little nerve wracking, being on crutches and making sure he doesn’t fall,” Kristina Mills said. “But yeah, no, it was good. It was good. We’re all happy we did it.”

Fellow graduate student Notre Dame defensive tackle Howard Cross III, who is close with Mills, suspected his running mate on the interior defensive line would find some way to support the team. But even he was stunned when he learned how he did it.

“I remember I was outside, and a fat RV came up,” Cross said. “Like, ‘What is that? Oh my God, it’s Rylie.’

“I made fun of him a little bit, but I was like, ‘That’s amazing.’ It just shows his dedication, to drive halfway across the country to make sure he’s there for us.”

Junior defensive tackle Gabriel Rubio, who replaced Mills in the starting lineup, said his teammate’s presence mattered to the defensive line room.

“Losing him wasn’t easy, but since we had him back, we felt more at ease,” Rubio said. “We felt a little more calm. … It gives us a little sense of normalcy.”

‘Proud of what he’s done’

As Mills watched his teammates celebrate on the field at the Orange Bowl, Notre Dame defensive line coach Al Washington sought him out.

Washington told Mills that the Irish wouldn’t be there without him. He told him that everything would work out if he kept the faith. Washington, unlike the players, knew Mills would be at the game. He felt it was extremely important to his position group.

“I’m so proud of him,” Washington said. “I’m proud of what he’s done this year.”

Mills ended his season with 9 tackles for loss, 7.5 sacks and 34 quarterback pressures, all of which led the Irish and represented career highs.

Just as significant, though, was Mills’ leadership throughout the season. Freshman defensive end Bryce Young, who will play a significant role for the Irish in the national championship, said he wouldn’t be where he is today without Mills.

“Words mean something, but they don’t mean as much as your actions,” Young said. “He’s always showing how much he’s dedicated to us, the team and his goals, whether that’s extra meeting time, holding me accountable when I mess up. I’m extremely grateful for that.”

Even after his injury, Mills continued to lead. He gave an outside perspective, Hinish explained, that helped his teammates get better. Young said he’s been texting in group chats when he catches mistakes or wants to point out a strong rep.

He wasn’t at the Sugar Bowl, but Washington had him Zoom into the defensive line meeting room to give a pep talk before the Irish took on Georgia. Notre Dame sacked Bulldogs quarterback Gunner Stockton four times, including the game-clincher from Hinish.

Washington was asked to put into words what Mills has meant to Notre Dame.

“It’s hard to do that, to be honest with you,” Washington said. “Not just because we’re here in this moment. It’s been special because of the decision I think the culture of the entire team has decided to take, and he’s a big part of it.”

As the Irish prepared to kick off the Orange Bowl and battle Penn State, Mills joined his fellow captains for the coin toss. One was Cross, who was not a season-long captain but has joined for the toss since Mills went down. Another was graduate student linebacker Jack Kiser, who helped Mills with his luggage when his family dropped him off in the RV.

From the stands, Leon and his parents looked on.

“We weren’t certain if he was gonna be able to crutch out for the coin toss,” Kristina Mills said. “To see him be able to do that, it was really special.”

Notre Dame beat Penn State 27-24, advancing to the national title game against Ohio State. The team touched down in Atlanta on Friday afternoon.

When the Irish landed and boarded their team buses, there was Mills, crutching off the plane.