Q&A: Lackawanna head coach Mark Duda opens up about Tyrece Mills
Penn State added another junior college prospect from Lackawanna Wednesday in safety Tyrece Mills. The Philadelphia native always had potential coming out of high school, even earning an offer from Akron late in the cycle, but in the end, academics forced him to go the junior college route. Due to the pandemic, this past year was far from ideal, but Mills made the most of limited opportunities, recording 14 tackles, two interceptions and forcing a fumble in just two games. Although he went under the radar with the media and scouts, Mills has everything that Penn State is looking for in its next junior college prospect. To learn more, we caught up with Lackawanna College head coach Mark Duda to discuss the newest Nittany Lion.
Ryan Snyder: What stands out about Tyrece Mills? He’s gone under the radar a bit compared to some of the previous players Penn State has taken. What do fans need to know about him?
Mark Duda: He’s a really versatile guy. I was talking to Coach [James] Franklin [Wednesday] morning and I really think he can play any position on the field aside from like nose tackle or a three-tech. First of all, he’s a big, physical kid. If you look at him, he looks like he’s 30. If you look at him, his body is really developing, so he can play at that level. He can run like a safety, he could play linebacker, he could probably play corner here, too. So, he’s really a gifted athlete. That’s one thing that makes him different from everybody else.
Also, he’s an extremely aggressive kid. He’s like Brisker in that regard. We always say that we should have a siren on his helmet to warn his teammates, because when he comes up there, he hits the opponent and his own guys, too. He’s just that kind of kid. He wants to blow things up. He also has that ability to find a guy and make a great tackle. We blitz him a little bit, too, which is fascinating when you watch him. He’s just teasing those guys who really can’t block him. One other thing is that he has good ball skills. The son of a gun can go back there and play centerfield and do a really good job of that, too, so he’s really versatile. He’s done this really rapidly, too. He came in and just every practice he got better and better and better. We got into our second game and that’s all it took. By that game, we knew he was our best defensive player on field, and that’s saying something, for sure. So, the kid is just a quality player. He has a great attitude about playing and is certainly a super physical guy.
Snyder: When did he get on campus for you guys? The 2020 off-season impacted everyone, so how did that affect him and everyone else?
Duda: He didn’t get on campus until January, and really, it was late January. We were in school, but everyone was home taking classes, so our football team was home and we were just going through everything on Zoom meetings. He got here for winter workouts, and then we started to play but it didn’t last long. Overall, we got like 35 practices in before we had to shut it down. But he was incredibly new to all of this as a freshman and just hit the ground running. It was impressive.
Snyder: I know he hasn’t been there long, but what’s he like as a leader? Has he adjusted that role?
Duda: His teammates realized pretty quickly that he’s the best one out there, and so when that happens, he just kind of becomes the guy who leads us into everything. He’s the first one on the field for practice and all that. He just loves playing more than anything else, so that attitude that he has is very contagious. I think that’s been great for our football team. When you have the skill set he has, and then you have the attitude he has, it’s kind of hard to beat. He simply just wants to be there more than just about everyone, and that’s really been the key to him. That trickles down to the rest of the team.
Snyder: Penn State seems to always be the first school to make an offer with most of your top guys. Why do you think that is? Why is PSU always a few months ahead of other schools?
Duda: I think Coach Franklin has said it just a number of times: He always wants to have Lackawanna’s best player every year. He’s said before that he wants our best player every year, and he wants them next year and the year after that. He feels that if he gets our best player every year, they’re going to get someone who’s going to help Penn State win, and I think that’s true. I think you can definitely say that they keep a closer eye on us than most people do. Also, they see these kids coming, obviously. They’ve seen these kids in high school. Most of them are from their home state, and if not, they’re from the surrounding states. So, they already have an eye on many of these guys before they get to Lackawanna. Now, they pulled the trigger on Tyrece really quickly, but honestly, I think it’s rightfully so. I mean, to me, there’s no doubt that he’s that guy. If we have a normal season, there’s no doubt that other schools are doing the same. But either way, Penn State is resolute in the fact that they understand how important it is to offer first. And so that’s what happens with a lot of our guys. They offer them really quickly. Then our kids look into it and say, “Boy, this is a good situation going on at Penn State.” So, I think that’s what makes it kind of special. Coach Franklin is committed to taking our best players every year he can, and so our players now know how many Lackawanna players are there and the success they’re having.
Snyder: Were other schools starting to become involved? Who else asked you about him?
Duda: Honestly, most of these schools were really just starting to do that. We’ve had a few schools looking closely at our one lineman, J.B. Nelson, who’s our right tackle. He has a few offers now, and I think a few more will be coming in the near future. For the most part, those same schools were also looking at Tyrece. Ole Miss and Maryland have offered him so far. I know South Carolina has interest in him, so all of those schools were starting to really evaluate our guys. There are a few others, too. That’s why Penn State gets on these guys as soon as they can. They get these head starts before other schools get around to it, and it’s been working for them. Penn State has been, in my opinion, bright enough and smart enough to get on these guys before everyone else does. Remember, a few other guys that Penn State took from us had to camp first. That’s not the case with Tyrece, so I think that says a lot. That shows how confident we all are in his potential. I think Brisker was one of the few guys who didn’t have to camp, and look how that’s worked out for them.
Snyder: We have him listed at 6-foot-1, 207 pounds. Is that a good number?
Duda: Yeah, he’s every bit of that. He’s probably a tad bit taller than Tig [Ji’Ayir Brown] and then maybe just a half an inch shorter than Brisker. His build is in between those guys, too. It’s funny, [Penn State] was talking about that last week with us. He really is a mixture of those two guys, which is just wild how it all works out. I think that, too, played a part in Penn State making this move quickly. He does a lot of things well. He’s a cover guy like Tig. He goes back there and can really read well and figure things out, but he’s also a super aggressive tackler like Brisker always was. It’s hard to keep him off the line of scrimmage because of how aggressive he is and the impact he makes sometimes, and what’s so exciting about all of this is that he’s just now beginning his development.
He’ll be here next fall, and then, if does a good job academically, he should be there next spring. Then he’s got three more years of competition, plus a redshirt year. To me, there isn’t a high school kid, or at least I’ve never seen a high school kid, who’s going to be better equipped physically coming in than Tyrece. How’s that going to happen? It won’t. There isn’t a high school kid out there who will be more prepared than Tyrece after 35 junior college practices, a few junior college spring games, an entire junior college fall season, plus the training he’ll get. All in the span of a year or so. The competition level is better.
Snyder: So, I know he’s versatile, but where does Tyrece Mills end up playing at Penn State? I get the impression he’s going to end up replacing Brisker. Fair?
Duda: I think he loves being that boundary guy, that close to the line of scrimmage guy. I think if you asked him if he wanted to be a deep third guy or the up guy, he’d be the up [guy] just because he’s so damn physical. So, I think that’s what he’ll probably want to be, and probably where he’ll start, but he has the range to play either. But overall, I just think his temperament is better closer to the ball. He likes that more, and so he feels comfortable there. He’s similar to Brisker in that when you put him too far away from the ball, he gets mad at you because he wants to be making plays. It’s the same principle here.
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