Mills kicks it up a leg in college

Darian Mills competes for South Florida at an indoor meet. [ USF Athletics ]

Darian Mills sharpens his focus at the starting blocks. [ USF Athletics ]

Darian Mills [ USF Athletics ]

Darian Mills poses after running the 4 x 400 relay. [ SGmediafl ]

In the summer of 2022, Darian Mills had just completed a track career at Port St. Joe High School which had seen him take home three state titles in hurdling events.

Two years later, at age 20, Mills is poised to begin his junior year at the University of South Florida in Tampa, an NCAA Division 1 program.

It’s been a speedy advancement up the college ranks for Mills, after first starting out at Thomas University in Thomasville, Georgia, an NAIA program.

“I never thought I would come from racing in the yard to racing at the Division 1 level,” said Mills. “Every hard practice, sweat, tears, the many prayers I asked God to cover me before every race was all worth it, brick by brick.”

The first big challenge that Mills had as he stepped into the Night Hawks program at Thomas was the height of the hurdles, which went from 39 inches in high school to 42 in college, with the distance they are set apart remaining unchanged.

“It was just a mental challenge,” said Mills. “You still hurdle the same way, you still practice the same way. It’s just your mind making it harder.

“If you don’t hurdle cleanly, or your trail leg doesn’t go up high enough you could possibly trip the hurdle,” he said. “You have to mentally prepare for it.”

Mills also had to adjust to running indoors as well as out, and like most Florida high school runners, he preferred being outside, where he had run for Tiger Shark Coach Keion McNair.

“That’s what he was accustomed to, unlike (runners from ) colder states that have the indoor track,” said Abigi Id-Deen, the University of South Florida Bulls’ associate head coach for sprints and hurdles. “Indoors was harder for him; he had to make a transition.”

Also, Mills could no longer run a collegiate 110-meter hurdles, a distance that had earned him two high school state titles, as that distance is shortened to 60-meters indoors.

Overall, the transition went quite well for Mills at Thomas, and in his freshman year, at the NAIA Outdoor National Championships in Marion, Indiana, he became the only freshman to advance to the finals, where he finished third and set a personal record of 51.56. Additionally, Mills became the first person in the program’s history to receive first team All-American honors, including marking the highest finish for any individual in program history at nationals. 

“Just coming in I knew I was one of the youngest in the field,” said Mills. “I had to put my mind into the race, to run smart and to run my race, to execute my training, that was my main focus.”

His outstanding freshman year whet his appetite to reach even higher, and so following that year, he made an ambitious decision to shoot for the highest level of collegiate track and field, NCAA Division 1.

“I knew going on to a higher level, times are going to be harder to hit,” Mills said in an interview last week. “Once I hit the mark I wanted to hit at the championships, I knew it would get me into USF.

“Before committing to the University of South Florida, a coach brought to my attention that I was making a mistake and that I wasn’t ready for the Division 1 level and that my times would not make it to the NCAA championships, saying most of his athletes always make this mistake,” Mills wrote online. “I almost believed it, because my confidence was always low of myself.

“They were encouraging,” he said. “Sometimes you feel that you don’t belong, and they just reminded me we recruited you for a reason.”

As it turned out, Mills made valuable contributions to a Bulls men’s team that for the first time won both the American Conference’s indoor and outdoor championships, and was the first American Conference team to sweep both crowns since Houston did it in 2019.

Mills’ time of 50.88 earned him a third place finish in the 400-meter hurdles at the conference championships, a personal best that ranks him in the top 10 in that event in the school’s history.

In the NCAA East tournament in Lexington in May, Kentucky, Mills ran a 52.54 in the 400 hurdles, close to two seconds off his best time, putting him at 38th.

“Of course you expect more of yourself,” he said. “I met the goal I was expecting; I’m not disappointed. I don’t regret anything.

“I didn’t go on to the second, third and fourth rounds,” Mill said. “I wished I could do that as well.”

Id-Deen, who will resume team practice next month and step up training in September, said Mills’ strongest asset is his will to win.

“He’s a competitor, he works hard,” said the coach. “He did an outstanding job as far as acclimating to a new environment. “Had to adapt over the course of the year and did a fine job.”

“Year one, you really could see a lot of how he handles this year, understanding what it takes now,” Id-Deen said. “That’s differ than when you’re going in and have no clue.

“This year is a big year for him,” said the coach. “In the junior year you can really tell what kind of upside he has.”

Mills got exposure to several other sprints during the course of the last two years, including the 400 meters, the 4 by 400 relays and the long jump. “When you stick to doing the same thing, it gets pretty boring,” id-Deen said. “It will help him build his overall ability.”

They open the season in Gainesville in January, and will have their first home meet in March, the first of two home meets.

“I’m excited to see his continued progress over the next two years,” said Id-Deen.

Now at home in Grand Ridge, Mills, 20, is living with his mom Martine Mills this summer before returning to campus in the fall, where he is majoring in criminology.

While he is not obsessive about his diet, Mills said he will begin detoxing his body for two weeks going into the season. He’ll dine on vegetables, fruits and water, or beet juice for recovery endurance.

“I’m not trying to underfeed myself, just to make healthier choices,” he said.

When training steps up, he’ll be at the track eight hours a week, an hour or so a day, and then step into two-hour practices on weekdays, and every other Saturday.

In the weight room, Mills wants to build up explosiveness and strength. “I need strength when I’m bringing up that last 100 meters of any race,” he said.

“I honestly wanna thank God for every opportunity and every lesson I learned this season, I wanna thank him for keeping me humble and hungry to reach my goals,” Mills wrote online. “I appreciate all who supported me and got me through this season. It was your presence that has been a beacon of strength. It really meant a lot.”