Penn State will welcome its latest Lackawanna Falcons commit to campus this weekend
Penn State football has enjoyed a strong connection with Lackawanna College over the last handful of years. Tyrece Mills is the latest product of that bond.
A Philadelphia native, Mills is a safety who signed with the Lions in the Class of 2022. He will arrive this weekend and start classes Monday as the next phase of his academic and athletic pursuits begins.
“Tyrece is a gifted athlete, he can run and jump,” Lackawanna coach Mark Duda said in a released statement.
“He’s a game-changer with great ball skills and he’s a big-time tackler. He’s only going to get better and better. He has all the physical skills you want. He’s a quiet guy, but someone who will always get it done.”
Tracking Mills’ path to Penn State
Mills was a force to be reckoned with out of Philadelphia Northeast High School. He was the Class 6A Public League Player of the Year as a senior after making 60 tackles while also recording nine interceptions and five pass breakups. It all happened under the watchful eye of Penn State alum Deion Barnes. He’s now a graduate assistant with the Lions, of course. But, back then, he was the Northeast defensive coordinator.
It should go without saying, then, that Penn State had an inside track on landing Mills. But, big schools like it needed to see a better academic profile before extending a scholarship offer. So, the safety landed at Lackawanna, put in the work, and committed to the Lions last May. He follows in the footsteps of other former Falcons like safeties Jaquan Brisker and Ji’Ayir Brown plus lineman and classmate JB Nelson, who was an early enrollee, among others.
“My family can drive to the games when they want. The last two safeties from Lackawanna went there, and one of them is now starting, so you know they’re gonna show love to the Lackawanna safeties. I got my coach there, like I said, so why not Penn State? Also, not to mention, this is Penn State, ya feel me? It’s one of the best teams in college football. So, it’s not a hard decision. If they want me, I gotta go there.”
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What’s next for Mills?
Penn State has a relatively healthy safety room at the top. But, it is quite light on numbers. It’s why the arrival of Mills (and later additional Class of 2022 signees KJ Winston, Mehki Flowers, and Cristian Driver) is so important to position coach Anthony Poindexter’s room.
To hear Lions coach James Franklin tell it, Mills’ versatility could lead him to the field rather quickly, especially in a special teams capacity.
“I think the biggest thing is his physicality,” Franklin said in February. “You’re talking about a guy that I think can play any three of the safety spots, which is the two deep safeties, but also that field backer-slash-safety player that we like to play with.
“I think his biggest strength is coming downhill and supporting the run like Marcus Allen did, but he also has the athleticism and ball skills to make some plays in those areas as well.”
Mills is not the only 2022 signee joining Penn State this weekend. BWI has also confirmed that linemen Hunter Nourzad and Drew Shelton plus corner Cam Miller and punter Alex Bacchetta will be, too. Others are possible, as well, as the Maymester begins.
