Product Description

Recruited for his combination of size and speed, George Mills had the potential to become an outstanding college football player--but it never happened. A View from the Bench reveals the reality behind the glamour of college football and the tough experiences in the life of a benchwarmer.

Mills was a solid player who loved the game, but he had only one shot in nearly five years at making Nebraska's starting team. He found little time or energy left for academics after hours of drills, weight lifting, and team meetings. Now, with complete candor, Mills lays bare the true weight of emphasis in the "student-athlete" dichotomy.

Free from anger or malice, Mills tells of his struggle to come to terms with a sports career of "mediocrity." A View from the Bench is an honest reflection of the experiences of so many overlooked players. It will be meaningful to anyone who has watched or played competitive sports.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #334072 in Books
• Published on: 2004-03-17
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 264 pages

Review
"I love the book! It takes me back to those pleasant days at Nebraska. I didn't realize I was so tough on George and the other defensive linemen. As he admits, he wasn't one of the outstanding players on the team, but he worked hard... That's all a coach can ask. As a writer on college football he makes the first team." -- Monte Kiffin, defensive coordinator for the 2003 Super Bowl-winning Tampa Bay Buccaneers "No other book about the college athletic experience rings truer." -- Benjamin G. Rader, author of American Sports "It brought back the sounds, sights, smells, pain, and excitement of being an average football player in a big-time college football program. I was impressed by Mills' description of those seemingly endless practice sessions, of those fanatical coaches, of the dedication of that handful of teammates who had a genuine chance of making it in the pros, and the joys of being a big man on campus." -- Stephen E. Ambrose, biographer of Nixon and Eisenhower and former pulling guard and linebacker at Wisconsin, 1954-56

Customer Reviews

The Story of an Ordinary player
Interesting insight into " big time " college athletics. Parents can learn to guide their children into the " best option" for college athletics by being realistic. The book confirms what we all know.

Informative Book, Especially His Relationship With Monte Kiffin
The book might be best targeted for Nebraska Cornhusker fans since most of information comes from when the author played in the early 1970's. However, because the book deals in large part with his relationship with Monte Kiffin, his defensive coach, the book has surprising relevance today. The book gives great insight into Kiffin's coaching style.

Mills also was very candid about his playing ability, his inability to gain and maintain weight needed to play his position and the problems he had being a student. I read Big Red Confidential years ago and found Mill's take on Boyd Epley to be different from that book. If one is an old Big 8 fan, the book mentions two other assistant coaches Mills played for, Warren Powers and Jim Walden, who later became head coaches in th conference. He did have tidbits about Bob Devaney and Tom Osborne, but his constant focus on Kiffin showed that college football players have more of a relationship with their most direct coach.

I would recommend the book even though a die-hard Nebraska fan would enjoy it more.