Colorado O-Line Recruit Gets Hard Sell From Mills

UW's star offensive guard makes personal pitch to 4-star prospect Reis Russell to join the Huskies

Published on Feb. 14, 2026

Four-star offensive line recruit Reis Russell from Colorado announced he will take an official visit to the University of Washington in June. Shortly after, UW's star offensive guard John Mills reached out to Russell on social media with a personal message: "Come home Reis." Mills, who had a standout freshman season starting 11 games for the Huskies, is expected to be assigned to recruit and host Russell during his visit as the program makes a hard sell to land the coveted Colorado prospect.

Why it matters

The Huskies were among the first schools to pursue Russell, a top-3 interior offensive lineman, and landing him would be a major recruiting win. With 32 scholarship offers, Russell has intense competition from schools like Georgia, LSU, and USC, so the Huskies are pulling out all the stops - including deploying their star player Mills to make a personal appeal.

The details

Russell, a 6-foot-3, 290-pound offensive lineman from Valor Christian High School in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, has been a top target for the Huskies for months. The program previously landed offensive tackle Roger Rosengarten, now in the NFL, from the same high school. Mills, coming off a standout freshman season starting 11 games on the UW offensive line, is expected to be assigned to host and recruit Russell during his official visit in June as the Huskies make their strongest pitch yet to land the coveted prospect.

  • On February 13, 2026, Russell announced he will take his official visit to UW on June 19-21.
  • Shortly after Russell's announcement, UW offensive guard John Mills reached out to him on social media with a personal message to "Come home Reis."

The players

Reis Russell

A 4-star offensive line recruit from Valor Christian High School in Highlands Ranch, Colorado who has received 32 scholarship offers from top programs including Georgia, LSU, and USC.

John Mills

The University of Washington's standout offensive guard who started 11 games as a freshman, including 9 at left guard and 2 at right tackle.

Roger Rosengarten

An offensive tackle who the University of Washington previously recruited from Valor Christian High School and is now playing in the NFL with the Baltimore Ravens.

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What they’re saying

“Come home Reis🤌🏻🇺🇸”

— John Mills, UW Offensive Guard (Twitter)

What’s next

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The takeaway

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