LSU's Jalen Mills excelled despite moves, injuries

Editor's note: We're counting down to LSU's Sept. 3 season opener against Florida State with a look back at the greatest Tiger players at each number from The Advocate book "LSU By The Numbers." Sunday marks four weeks, 28 days, until kickoff, so we remember No. 28, All-American defensive back Jalen Mills:

DB, 2012-15

All-American 2015

How good a player was Jalen Mills? He earned All-American honors as a senior safety in 2015 despite missing the first five games with a potentially devastating preseason injury.

Born in 1994, Milles arrived at LSU from DeSoto, Texas, and immediately entrenched himself as a starter, beginning his career as a cornerback. He started every game from his freshman through junior seasons, a streak that likely would have continued had he not gotten hurt.

He continued on as a cornerback most of the 2013 season but adeptly made the transition to safety for the Outback Bowl. Mills seemingly didn’t miss a beat, recording six of his 67 tackles overall in the Tigers’ soggy 21-14 victory over Iowa. Mills had three interceptions, tying for the team lead with Craig Loston.

In 2014, Mills started 12 games at safety and one as a nickel back, notching 62 tackles with three sacks, all seeming to set him up for a dominant senior season.

Then came that fateful final day of preseason camp in August 2015. During a drill a teammate rolled Mills’ ankle, breaking his fibula, the long, thin bone running along the outside of the shin. Making things worse, Mills also suffered two damaged ankle ligaments. Doctors told him he would be lucky to be walking again normally within two months, leaving his entire senior season in jeopardy.

“I just stayed positive,” Mills said. “My teammates stayed positive, my coaches stayed positive, my family prayed to God.”

Instead of just walking normally after eight weeks, Mills, with a permanent steel plate in his leg, played Oct. 17 against Florida. He started again the next week against Western Kentucky.

“No surprise,” said Claude Mathis, Mills’ high school coach. “No surprise.”

The injury likely dampened Mills’ draft stock, as he lasted until the seventh round in 2016 before finally being scooped up by the Philadelphia Eagles. But he quickly proved his worth, becoming a starter on the Eagles’ 2017 team that beat the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LII. Mills signed with New England in March 2021 as a free agent and is entering his third season with the Patriots.

CAREER STATS

Year G-GS Tackles Sacks INTs

2012 13-13 57 0 2

2013 13-13 67 3 3

2014 13-13 62 0 1

2015 7-6 30 1 0

TOTALS 46-45 216 4 6

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