Calgary running back Mills says his head in a good place led to career season

CALGARY — Dedrick Mills’ life on the football field reflects his life off it.

The Calgary Stampeders running back is poised to claim the CFL’s rushing title this season.

His 1,225 rushing yards with two games remaining in the regular season are already the most by a Stampeder since Jon Cornish (1,813) in 2013.

Mills was in a dark place in 2024. A friend and his cousin were killed in a car crash that spring in his home state of Georgia.

Mills abruptly left the Stampeders mid-season for almost three weeks for what head coach and general manager Dave Dickenson later called a suspension.

The 28-year-old Mills says his career output this season is because of “me just changing things in my life that, I felt held me back.”

“I didn’t have a good first three years, dealing with a lot of family trauma, other things that were holding me back,” Mills continued Friday.

“This past off-season, I took time for myself to clear my mind, get closer to God, came back this year and everything just fell into place.”

He’s also a man in love as he recently was engaged to Jasmine Murphy from Nova Scotia. The two met at a Calgary Surge basketball game.

“I’ve got a beautiful fiancée now,” Mills said. “She also helped me stay straight, keep me in this right path that I’m on.”

The five-foot-10, 238-pound back out of Nebraska started 2025 with a bang when he scored three rushing touchdowns in Calgary’s season-opening win over Hamilton.

“That was a statement game,” Mills said earlier this season. “I just wanted to come out and show everybody, let everybody know what they’ve got to deal with all season, what’s coming all season and just prepare themselves.”

He’s scored 10 rushing touchdowns so far this season. Mills has also added 227 receiving yards on 16 catches.

Calgary (9-7-0) leads the CFL in rushing yards per game (126.7) and attempts (23.1) heading into Saturday’s game against the Toronto Argonauts.

With the B.C. Lions beating the Edmonton Elks 37-24 on Friday night, the Stampeders are guaranteed a post-season berth. The Lions improved to 10-7 and moved into second place, two points ahead of Calgary. The Winnipeg Blue Bombers, who beat the first-place Saskatchewan Roughriders 17-16 in Friday’s early game, clinched a playoff spot with a 9-8 record. They have 18 points, the same as the third-place Stampeders.

After three weeks on the road, the Stampeders will play their final home game of the regular season and seek to cap it with a 6-3 record at McMahon Stadium.

With quarterback Nick Arbuckle (shoulder) on the shelf, Jarret Doege will start for the Argonauts (5-12-0), whose season concludes Saturday because of a bye week to end the regular season.

After claiming the Grey Cup two of the last three seasons, and reaching the East Division final four straight years, the Argonauts finish out of the playoffs for the first time since 2019.

Toronto is still a dangerous opponent, Dickenson said.

“When you play loose and no pressure, sometimes that frees you up,” Dickenson said. “I know they’ll be well coached. I know there’ll be coming in here with everything they got. They’re going to try to finish the right way. It’s our job to just maintain our standards, what Stampeder football is.

“This is a big game for us. We had a win last week. We played good football Can we take it to the next level and get better so we can gain some momentum?”

Mills can expand his lead as rushing leader Saturday as Saskatchewan’s A.J. Ouellette (1,179 yards) was rested Friday in Winnipeg to save him for the playoffs.

“I love when it gets cold. I love it when it starts raining a little bit too, because I know where the ball going at,” said Mills, who has his eye on the 1,500-yard mark.

Quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. said after he signed with Calgary, his off-season conversation with Mills indicated the running back was gearing up for a big season.

“He told me that he was going to be better for the team,” Adams said. “He told me his diet and his off-the-field activities, everything was going to be more locked in as a leader of a football team.”

The last Stampeder to earn the CFL rushing title was Ka’Deem Carey (1,088) in 2022. Mills has posted three games of 100-plus yards this season.

“I do believe he’s got a really nice focus, and he’s getting some support outside of these walls and I think that’s important for people,” Dickenson said. “He’s got a good thing going in his private life, his personal life.

“Happy with what he’s doing and proud of him, but there’s a lot more to do.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2025.