I still think Milton sucks

Can Milton do all of the things Hooker could? No. Or at least we haven't seen it yet. With that being said, being able to effortlessly flick the ball 70 yards can paper over a lot of other shortcomings. I don't think anyone here is expecting Milton to look like a polished NFL ready QB this fall. But given Heupel's coaching ability, it's not unreasonable to expect that he will be able to effectively hide Milton's shortcomings a lot of the time and play to his strengths. If Heupel can scheme guys wide open the same way he did last year then I expect this offense to give people fits.

 

I think it may be better than last years and Milton will be getting a lot of national attention all year.

 

All I know is if Hendon crushes it in the NFL, particularly somehow this year, and Milton gets drafted early yet performs poorly, some talking heads should have to eat crow.

Edit: stupid autocorrect

 

If he turns out to be, we're going to the playoffs.

 

Yeah, there's no limit if that turns out to be true.

 

I’ll believe it when I see it. Right now I can see him being the reason we lose in Gainesville more easily than taking us to 10 wins. If he does put it together though, that will be must see TV.

 

I agree with Bill C on this one:

Will third time be a charm for Joe Milton III? In his first start at Michigan in 2020, Milton threw for 225 yards and had a raw QBR of 94.0. His QBR for the rest of the season: 37.2. He was supplanted by Cade McNamara and transferred to Tennessee, where he once again won the starting job ... and once again struggled. He went a combined 18-for-35 for 189 yards against Bowling Green and Pitt, took five sacks and got benched again, this time in favor of Hendon Hooker, who started most of the next two years.

Milton's arm has seduced both Michigan's Jim Harbaugh and Tennessee's Josh Heupel. It's one of the best arms you'll ever see at the collegiate level. Effortless 60-yard flicks, that kind of stuff. But when it comes to football decision-making, Milton has shown limitations. He hasn't been able to make the transition from "great thrower" to "great quarterback."

In 2023, Milton will get something college players usually don't: a third chance. Milton filled in for an injured Hooker late in 2022 and went a combined 30-of-49 for 398 yards, four touchdowns and no picks (with, yes, another four sacks) against first Vanderbilt, then Clemson in the Orange Bowl. Comfortable wins gave the Vols a No. 6 final AP ranking, and Milton entered the offseason as not only the presumptive starter but also, to many, a Heisman sleeper.

It's never good preview writing to say, "Everything comes down to the quarterback" -- it doesn't exactly entice people to keep reading. But if Milton indeed takes the leap we've been expecting for years, the sky's the limit. The Vols return two running backs (Jabari Small and Jaylen Wright) who combined for 1,609 yards and 23 TDs last season, plus three of last year's top five receivers (and big-play Oregon transfer Dont'e Thornton Jr.).

 

I think Milton is better than Guarantano (sp?). I know Heuple is better than Jones.

I am in a good place. I am gonna enjoy the ride.

 

Not really. I mean, not...at all. The ability to effortlessly flick the ball 70 yards is maybe useful once a game...tops?

It definitely does not paper over shortcomings.

 

The offense? I'll take that bet if you're offering.

 

I think the ability to do it at any time has an impact on how the opposition approaches playing against you, so in that sense it’s always useful. But I wouldn’t say it covers shortcomings either.

 

Yeah i really doubt it’s better. But I think it’ll be fine

 

I wouldn't offer it as a bet. It may be better, as in I am not certain it will be worse. It will be different. If I had to hang my hat on a metric like yards, points, etc I don't feel very confident. 90 points against Bama and lsu feels hard to beat.

I don't think there will be as many dud halfs, like against pitt, uf, uga, south carolina, etc.

 

It's going to be different but it's going to put up big numbers. Milton is going to be asked to run it on more designed qb runs because he doesn't have a great feel for the pocket and nearly everything is going to be based off play action.

 

Milton didn't complete a pass in a quarter of football against Ball State

 

And hung over 50 without doing much against vandy. He can have an effect just being out there.

 

Heck yes it does. Speedy receivers threatening the defense downfield? Maybe they need safety help. Result? Easier to run the ball. Also opens up short passing game a little. It's not complicated.

Generally speaking the more freakish ability you have, the less complicated your approach has to be. The "papering over" is that Heupel will not ask Milton to do certain things he's not good at as frequently or at all, because it's not necessary. It might be necessary if he couldn't threaten the defense so much just with his arm strength.