Countdown to Kickoff: 70 Days - Asst. Coach Pat Mills

It's now 70 days until kickoff of Catamount football at Western Carolina's E.J. Whitmire Stadium. The Catamounts open the season on Thursday, August 30, 2012 against Mars Hill College.

To help pass those long summer days until football season starts, and hopefully get the Catamount faithful more excited about the upcoming season, we'll continue the 100 day football countdown. 

#70 not currently assigned, so we'll highlight another Assistant Coach.

Pat Mills



Hometown: Charlotte, N.C.
Position: Assistant Coach / TEs
Alma Mater: Appalachian State




Pat Mills joined the Catamount football staff in January of 2012, coming to Cullowhee after spending the 2011 season as the tight ends coach at Concord University in Athens, W.Va., a role he will continue at Western Carolina.

Last season, Mills mentored Concord senior tight end Rashid Baker who finished the season ranked third on the team with 32 receptions for 315 yards and two touchdowns. Baker earned honorable mention on the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WVIAC) post-season award squads. The Mountain Lions finished with a 7-4 overall record and a 7-1 mark in the WVIAC, claiming its first conference championship since 1990. Concord also qualified for the NCAA Super Region 1 playoffs, the program's first post-season appearance since 1992.

Mills was a four-year letter-winner and three-year starter along the offensive line at Appalachian State from 2007-10, twice garnering All-Southern Conference plaudits. Originally from Charlotte, N.C., and Providence HS, he played in 47 career games at ASU, splitting time at both offensive guard positions.

As a redshirt junior, Mills started all 14 games at right guard, earning second team All-SoCon recognition from the league's voting media after only allowing one sack all season. The following year, he earned first team all-conference accolades, seeing 723 snaps on the field without allowing a quarterback sack.

Mills helped lead Providence HS in Charlotte to a 9-2 record in his senior season at offensive tackle, earning first-team All-Mecklenburg recognition from the Charlotte Observer as a senior.

He is the son of Gail and Dean Mills.

Courtesy WCU Sports Information