Every year, South Florida has an alpha dog wide receiver. In 2022, it was Brandon Innis. Last year, it was #1 overall player Jeremiah Smith. This year, there may not be a receiver more coveted than Homestead’s Cortez Mills. He was hugely productive for the 3M state runner-up, catching 79 balls for 1,640 yards and 18 TDs. Mills carried that success into the offseason as the star of the RAW 7-on-7 team. He also dominated at the Under Armour Camp.
It’s no surprise that multiple big name schools are hot on the trail. The 6’1, 170-pounder with 3XL gloves has already set up official visits with Clemson (May 31), Florida (June 7) and the hometown Miami Hurricanes (June 21).
CanesInSight was able to catch up with Mills and get the latest on his recruitment:
On his relationship with Miami: “Every week they got a chance to come down to see me, they came down. And every time they came down, they had positive energy. Every time when they were around my mom, she just loved the way they talked. She just loved the vibe. They just came down, and they just had everything set. That got my mom's attention.”
“It's right there. It's 30 minutes away. So it's home away from home. Every time I step on campus, they always show me love. It's just always a great environment. The atmosphere always outstanding.”
On Cristobal’s message to his family: “He was just letting me and my mom know, if I come to UM, I'm in good hands and he’s going to take care of me and help me develop to get to the next level. That's what I'm looking for.”
“He told me he’s going to get me there and the way he’s going to get me there is to keep recruiting me as hard as he can. Just keep making sure I'm straight and my mom's great and my family's great.”
On his timeline for committing to a school: “I’ll probably commit right before the season, probably the first three games. I don't want to wait too late.”
On his mentality: “On the field, I'm a dog and my confidence to the sky. I don't see nobody. Off the field, I'm just going to be me. I'm just going to be me at all times. It don't matter who I'm around. I'm still the same person.”
On whether he looks at depth charts: "Like I said before, my confidence is to the sky. So anywhere I go, I feel like I'm just going to compete and work for my spot. I'm going to get up to the top."
On player comparisons: “Every time coaches come to the school, they always compare me to Devonta Smith. So I've been studying his game lately."
On his goals for his senior year: “I would love to carry my team to a state title. I had an amazing year my junior year [1,640 yards]. My senior year, I’ve got to go out with a bang. So I'm planning on topping that. I'm planning on going for 2,000.”
On Team RAW: “RAW is a great program. We got a whole bunch of dogs on the team. Every day in practice, we got to compete against the top athletes in the country. We got great coaches, like Coach [Tommy Shuler, former Central and Marshall star]. They just help us develop over there.”
Mills is currently ranked as the #96 overall player and #11 WR nationally on the 247 Composite.
