As the Washington Huskies have tried to ease some of the responsibilities around true freshman left tackle Kodi Greene in recent weeks, the former five-star recruit was on the sideline for the entire second half of UW's 25-21 loss to USC, as Jedd Fisch chose to kick 2025 Freshman All-American John Mills from left guard out to left tackle.
While the Huskies still sputtered on offense and mustered just 21 points against a Trojan defense that came into the week allowing an average of 33 points per game, Jedd Fisch seemed encouraged about what he saw from the offensive line after Mills kicked outside in the second quarter.
"I thought John Mills stepped in at left tackle and had a lot of really good plays at left tackle," Fisch said after the game.
"Doesn't mean he's the left tackle; that means he stepped in today and did a really good job."
While Washington was able to generate much more in the run game with Brian Bonner Jr. in the backfield, who racked up a career-high 89 yards, and Mills at left tackle, which placed Geirean Hatchett at left guard, Greene will still be a big part of the offense going forward.
"I think the biggest thing was they were a bull rush team and John's pretty stout, so we felt like they weren't really using a speed rush most of the game, and they weren't really lining up too wide," Fisch added. "So, John was probably the more stout guy. It was almost like playing guard at tackle for a little bit, and the way the game was being played."
"So he did a really good job there. But I thought that, overall, the way we blocked some of our counter plays was really good."
The Huskies picked up 116 yards on the ground in the loss, as with injuries to running backs Jayden Limar, Quaid Carr, Jordan Washington, and Julian McMahan, Fisch has tried to temper expectations for the ground game, stating that he's aiming for the unit to accrue somewhere between 125 and 175 yards per contest.
This article originally appeared on Huskies Wire: Jedd Fisch encouraged by John Mills' extended reps at left tackle
