UI Press | George R. Mills | A View from the Bench: The Story of an Ordinary Player on a Big-Time Football Team

A View from the Bench

The Story of an Ordinary Player on a Big-Time Football Team

The memoirs of an average college football player at one of the most dominant college football programs

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.

"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

George R. Mills was defensive tackle at the University of Nebraska and is now a sales broker at a real estate firm in Omaha. He coached high school football for several years.