Zack Mills battled depression. I never knew.

[TheGLOV]

It's not the narrative of the article but he does admit later in the piece.

Hang in there sir and al the best to you!

Conquering 0-4: How Zack Mills and Penn State found the secret in themselves once before

The sporting goods salesman looks back on how he and his team rallied from the only other 0-4 start in school history.

www.ydr.com

 

[psuro]

New #1 Will Levis?

 

[KC-KS-Lion]

It's not the narrative of the article but he does admit later in the piece.

Hang in there sir and al the best to you!

Conquering 0-4: How Zack Mills and Penn State found the secret in themselves once before

The sporting goods salesman looks back on how he and his team rallied from the only other 0-4 start in school history.

www.ydr.com

Probably one of the best at handling the ball behind the line of scrimmage, avoiding the blitz and finding open receivers after a blitz-why many teams blitzed less often.

 

[BBrown]

Probably one of the best at handling the ball behind the line of scrimmage, avoiding the blitz and finding open receivers after a blitz-why many teams blitzed less often.

His ball handling and fakes were excellent.
He would have been ideal for this style offense...pre Wiscy shoulder injury.
IMO he was much better than his record.

 

[butchnitt]

It's not the narrative of the article but he does admit later in the piece.

Hang in there sir and al the best to you!

Conquering 0-4: How Zack Mills and Penn State found the secret in themselves once before

The sporting goods salesman looks back on how he and his team rallied from the only other 0-4 start in school history.

www.ydr.com

Zack was always one of my favorites.

 

[Sviatoslav]

I was at the game in Camp Randall (04?) the day Erasmus James knocked out both Mills and MRob. Bad day. Great game-day experience otherwise. Met Ethan Kilmer's parents.

 

[olelion]

My grandson is now 24 years old. When he was 7, about a year after his mother passed away I took him to Lincoln to see PSU v Neb. After the game we went to where the team was leaving the facility to board the buses. While waiting we met Zack's mom. She was so nice to my grandson whose name ironically is Erik which is Zack's middle name, so we learned. Anyhow, Zack came by to see his mom and she introduced him to my grandson a little friendly chat and then he signed Erik's ticket that Erik clutched to his bosom the rest of the evening. Then came winter and the Christmas season. Erik dutifully went to our mailbox to retrieve our mail but eventually he became a bit dismayed that he never got mail. So, I wrote to Mrs. MIlls, explained the situation and asked if Zack could send him a card.........he did, with a little note. True story. We still have the ticket stub and Christmas card.

Zach Mills is special to this household.

 

[GregInPitt]

Zach likely came down with it after reading this board....

 

[PSUHarry33]

It's not the narrative of the article but he does admit later in the piece.

Hang in there sir and al the best to you!

Conquering 0-4: How Zack Mills and Penn State found the secret in themselves once before

The sporting goods salesman looks back on how he and his team rallied from the only other 0-4 start in school history.

www.ydr.com

Thanks for sharing this.

 

[Lionguy32]

I was at the game in Camp Randall (04?) the day Erasmus James knocked out both Mills and MRob. Bad day. Great game-day experience otherwise. Met Ethan Kilmer's parents.

Mills was never the same after that game.

 

[Cold Smoke]

It's not the narrative of the article but he does admit later in the piece.

Hang in there sir and al the best to you!

Conquering 0-4: How Zack Mills and Penn State found the secret in themselves once before

The sporting goods salesman looks back on how he and his team rallied from the only other 0-4 start in school history.

www.ydr.com

Mills took more more big hits and got up than any PSU QB in my experience. Led by example. Warrior.

 

[Waste Management Consultant]

My grandson is now 24 years old. When he was 7, about a year after his mother passed away I took him to Lincoln to see PSU v Neb. After the game we went to where the team was leaving the facility to board the buses. While waiting we met Zack's mom. She was so nice to my grandson whose name ironically is Erik which is Zack's middle name, so we learned. Anyhow, Zack came by to see his mom and she introduced him to my grandson a little friendly chat and then he signed Erik's ticket that Erik clutched to his bosom the rest of the evening. Then came winter and the Christmas season. Erik dutifully went to our mailbox to retrieve our mail but eventually he became a bit dismayed that he never got mail. So, I wrote to Mrs. MIlls, explained the situation and asked if Zack could send him a card.........he did, with a little note. True story. We still have the ticket stub and Christmas card.

Zach Mills is special to this household.

Not surprising. Having worked with Mrs. Mills for about 15 years and being a coach on the opposite sideline against Zack’s high school team. Very humble, good people, good family.

 

[Cletus11]

Mills took more more big hits and got up than any PSU QB in my experience. Led by example. Warrior.

I think if concussion protocol was around back when Mills played, he would have been sitting out some games as he got hit pretty hard a decent amount of time. Wonder how much of that depression was due to that type of concussion related issues.

 

[cubfan3]

Loved #7!

 

[Jerry]

My grandson is now 24 years old. When he was 7, about a year after his mother passed away I took him to Lincoln to see PSU v Neb. After the game we went to where the team was leaving the facility to board the buses. While waiting we met Zack's mom. She was so nice to my grandson whose name ironically is Erik which is Zack's middle name, so we learned. Anyhow, Zack came by to see his mom and she introduced him to my grandson a little friendly chat and then he signed Erik's ticket that Erik clutched to his bosom the rest of the evening. Then came winter and the Christmas season. Erik dutifully went to our mailbox to retrieve our mail but eventually he became a bit dismayed that he never got mail. So, I wrote to Mrs. MIlls, explained the situation and asked if Zack could send him a card.........he did, with a little note. True story. We still have the ticket stub and Christmas card.

Zach Mills is special to this household.

Zack has always been one of my favorites. Southpaw with a feathery touch. And a total class act, which the story above shows.

It's interesting, but his record back then highlights a theme from a thread on today's team and QB: making the QB a rushing weapon will often come back to bite you.

I used to cringe when they called his number to run the ball as a feature of the offense. And finally it caught up to them...and Zack.

Oh well, for my money, he remains a great QB...and outstanding human being. We need more of those in football today.

 

[Art]

Zach likely came down with it after reading this board....

So, he has no appreciation for slapstick comedy.

 

[81b&w]

Zack's drive to win #324 for Joe ....

 

[KC-KS-Lion]

My grandson is now 24 years old. When he was 7, about a year after his mother passed away I took him to Lincoln to see PSU v Neb. After the game we went to where the team was leaving the facility to board the buses. While waiting we met Zack's mom. She was so nice to my grandson whose name ironically is Erik which is Zack's middle name, so we learned. Anyhow, Zack came by to see his mom and she introduced him to my grandson a little friendly chat and then he signed Erik's ticket that Erik clutched to his bosom the rest of the evening. Then came winter and the Christmas season. Erik dutifully went to our mailbox to retrieve our mail but eventually he became a bit dismayed that he never got mail. So, I wrote to Mrs. MIlls, explained the situation and asked if Zack could send him a card.........he did, with a little note. True story. We still have the ticket stub and Christmas card.

Zach Mills is special to this household.

His sisters babysat my sister's kids. My sister is not a football fan at all. We come from a big family, so we naturally ask others about their siblings. When my sister asked Zach's sister if she had any other siblings, she mentioned having another sister and a brother 'who was going to Penn State', but no mention of football or a scholarship. I finally put two and two together and mentioned it to my sister. Later, when she saw Zach's mother at church and mentioned Zach, her mother pointed to her daughter and mentioned her athletic accomplishments. It seems they are a very humble and grounded family.

 

[ApexLion]

Mills was never the same after that game.

It wasn’t that game. Illinois went after his legs until they finally got him.

He also had a shoulder injury. Very banged up his last year.

 

[PSUTENN1]

I remember him coming in the game at Northwestern and winning it in the 4th, and his touchdown run to beat tOSU. Total classy kid who gave it up for Penn State. He took too many huge hits.

 

[PearlSUJam]

 

[rudedude]

Zack's drive to win #324 for Joe ....

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Fond memories of that game as it was the last game I attended with my dad.

 

[ryoder1]

My grandson is now 24 years old. When he was 7, about a year after his mother passed away I took him to Lincoln to see PSU v Neb. After the game we went to where the team was leaving the facility to board the buses. While waiting we met Zack's mom. She was so nice to my grandson whose name ironically is Erik which is Zack's middle name, so we learned. Anyhow, Zack came by to see his mom and she introduced him to my grandson a little friendly chat and then he signed Erik's ticket that Erik clutched to his bosom the rest of the evening. Then came winter and the Christmas season. Erik dutifully went to our mailbox to retrieve our mail but eventually he became a bit dismayed that he never got mail. So, I wrote to Mrs. MIlls, explained the situation and asked if Zack could send him a card.........he did, with a little note. True story. We still have the ticket stub and Christmas card.

Zach Mills is special to this household.

Great story. Sounds like Zack is a great guy and glad he made a positive impact on your grandson and you.

 

[ryoder1]

Zack's drive to win #324 for Joe ....

View embedded media

Love that game! I was there. Big win for the Nits and Zack played phenomenal.

 

[YogiMan71]

I hope he is doing okay now I enjoyed watching him play.

 

[guguta]

Wow, what a heartwarming story! It's amazing how a simple interaction can leave a lasting impact. It just goes to show that we never know what someone might be going through, even when they seem perfectly fine on the surface.
Depression is a tough battle, and many people hide their struggles, just like Zack Mills did. It's important for us to be there for one another and show kindness, as you did with your grandson and Zack's mom. Small gestures can make a big difference in someone's life.
By the way, I came across an interesting article about the signs of BPD that you might find helpful. Understanding these signs can provide valuable insights and support for those dealing with borderline personality disorder. Here's the link to the source: fherehab.com.

 

[Obliviax]

I was only depressed on one day. October 24th, 2003. On that day, I woke up realizing PSU had lost 6 to 4 versus Iowa. Worse, Iowa took a safety on purpose, bringing the difference down to less than a FG. They thought so little of our offense they knew we couldn't even get a FG. The 4 we scored was on two safeties.

Iowa 6-4 Penn State (Oct 23, 2004) Final Score - ESPN

Game summary of the Iowa Hawkeyes vs. Penn State Nittany Lions NCAAF game, final score 6-4, from October 23, 2004 on ESPN.

www.espn.com