Jeff Mills was named HBU’s defensive coordinator on Jan. 10, 2018.
Senior defensive end Andre Walker led the nation in sacks, earning All-America honors in 2019. Linebacker Brennan Young led the Southland Conference and ranked fifth nationally in tackles per game to earn HERO Sports Sophomore All-America honors, while junior linebacker Caleb Johnson ranked second in the league in tackles and 10th in the nation in tackles per game. Safety Tra Fluellen was one of three Huskies with more than 100 tackles and earned HERO Sports Freshman All-America honors.
In 2018, linebacker Langston Tunson led the conference and ranked fourth in the nation with 12.2 tackles per game. Defensive end Andre Walker tied the single-season record with five sacks and became the Huskies all-time sacks leader with 11.5. Tunson earned all-conference honors, while Walker was a CoSIDA Academic All-District selection.
Mills has more than 30 years of coaching experience at the collegiate level. He was the head football coach at New Mexico Highlands in 2015 and 2016 and has served as defensive coordinator at New Mexico, Youngstown State, Idaho (twice) and Nevada. Mills has also had stops as an assistant at Washington (twice), Montana State, Drake and Western Washington.
During his first stint as a graduate assistant at Washington, the Huskies won the Pac-10 championship and the Rose Bowl in 1990 and 1991. In that second season, Washington went 12-0 to claim a share of the national championship.
A native of Urbandale, Iowa, Mills played quarterback and outside linebacker at Western Washington, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in broadcast communication in 1988. His son, Tyler, graduated from HBU in December 2020 with a marketing degree. His daughter, Amanda, is married to Sacramento State running backs coach Malcolm Agnew.
