Teammates, coaches and colleagues of Sam Mills react to Hall of Fame announcement

PAT TERRELL – Teammate in Carolina (1995-97)

“Sam being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame just solidifies for me the reason why they have a Hall of Fame. He epitomizes toughness, the word teammate, commitment. Sam Mills changed the game for how to be a professional, how to be a leader that not only, ‘Do what I say but do what I do.’ Sam Mills just reassures me that the Hall of Fame is looking for the right things for their inductees.

“You look at him as a sergeant, a commander of a force, and he gives you immediate confidence. If you’re in the starting rotation on a defense with Sam Mills, you know you’re there because of your own skillset and your own professionalism, but also you know that you’re there because Sam Mills wants you on his defense. If you weren’t a student of the game and willing to sacrifice everything to be out there, Sam Mills was going to let it be known. Playing with Sam was just fun. I give him all these accolades of being such a serious and committed football player, but he was simply a nice person. He was a real good guy and someone that, and I don’t say this a lot, I’d be proud if one of my kids was even mentioned as far as his personality and the type of man that Sam Mills was. It’s hard to describe him with one word. You have to use a sentence. He was a selfless, committed, tough, and simply a good football player. And I say simply because he made it look easy.”