Dedrick Mills’ status for North Carolina unclear

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets B-back Dedrick Mills (26) runs for a touchdown against the Vanderbilt Commodores in the first half at Bobby Dodd Stadium on Saturday, September 17, 2016. HYOSUB SHIN / HSHIN@AJC.COM

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets B-back Dedrick Mills (26) runs for a touchdown against the Vanderbilt Commodores in the first half at Bobby Dodd Stadium on Saturday, September 17, 2016. HYOSUB SHIN / HSHIN@AJC.COM

Georgia Tech B-back Dedrick Mills, who missed Saturday’s game against Duke because of a concussion, has cleared the concussion protocol, according to coach Paul Johnson.

The coach, however, said Wednesday that “we’ll see” if Tech’s leading rusher among running backs and its leading scorer will play Saturday against No. 21 North Carolina. Johnson said after Saturday’s game that he thought Mills would be back to play against the Tar Heels. The team will release an injury report Thursday.

Mills suffered the concussion in practice last week.

Mills has gained 446 yards on 95 carries and scored 10 touchdowns, nine on the ground. Without him in the lineup against Duke, Marcus Marshall and Marcus Allen ran 18 times for 90 yards, with 50 of those yards coming on one run. Beyond a powerful running style and a tight grip on the ball, Mills also has been an effective pass blocker.