Apparent Bowl opt-outs include MHJr and Joe Milton
Marvin Harrison Jr., though with the team, is not practicing and is presumed to be opting out of the game and entering the draft. So says everyone, despite any official announcement.
Denzel Burke announced that he will announce on Jan. 10. I don't know why the 10th. Deadline to declare is Jan. 15.
Elsewhere, Joe Milton did make it officially official.
December 27th, 2023 at 1:24 PM ^
MHJ was a no brainer, best of luck to Overthrow Joe
December 27th, 2023 at 1:45 PM ^
Does Milton think he is going pro?
December 27th, 2023 at 1:48 PM ^
Some team's at least gonna put him on their practice squad or keep him as a 3rd string QB to see if they can do something with that arm
December 27th, 2023 at 1:58 PM ^
I think some team is going to draft him too high and it'll cost the coach and/or GM his job. I like Joe Milton, but he has "coach killer" written all over him. Hope I'm wrong.
December 27th, 2023 at 2:12 PM ^
Matt Millen has entered the draft discussion.
December 27th, 2023 at 3:51 PM ^
Milton is gonna play WR?
December 27th, 2023 at 8:49 PM ^
more likely TE
December 27th, 2023 at 2:21 PM ^
You really think someone's taking him in a "coach killer' draft slot? I'd be very surprised if he goes before the fourth round.
December 27th, 2023 at 2:33 PM ^
Even then... Was Milton better than Shea Patterson? He's got that arm, but seems like a guy you could get at the end of the draft or sign as a free agent after a couple of years in the CFL.
I wish him success, but seems like his status would go up if he played in the bowl game.
December 27th, 2023 at 2:49 PM ^
He's currently projected as a late day 3 pick or an undrafted free agent. He is absolutely not going to be a coach killer. He is, at best, going to be a practice squad or third string (developmental) QB for an NFL team.
Balling out in a bowl game won't increase his stock as much as suffering a serious injury will decrease it, so sitting out is probably the right call even if he isn't going to be a high pick. He could get hurt and see his NFL hopes evaporate instantly. He's much more likely to be a combine darling and see a draft stock bump that way than balling out in a bowl game against Iowa.
December 27th, 2023 at 2:50 PM ^
Can't imagine Joe will be drafted, although I guess a 7th-round flier is always possible. If he hasn't clicked by now -- and he hasn't -- I don't know why you'd use a pick on him.
December 27th, 2023 at 3:17 PM ^
Shea regressed his final year, off the field focus issues, football as a side hustle and golf as his primary focus, and a horrible senior bowl were why.
December 27th, 2023 at 8:08 PM ^
Are we just pretending that Shea wasn't a #1 overall pick?!?
December 27th, 2023 at 3:01 PM ^
My guess would be someone will take him as a flier in rounds 5-6
December 27th, 2023 at 3:04 PM ^
I know, right? I definitely think he shouldn't be drafted that high, but he's going to tear it up at the combine and some team will take him way too high and he's going to be named the starter for a game at some point and throw 4 int's.
December 27th, 2023 at 4:31 PM ^
NBA drafts on athletic potential, but the NFL is far more discerning. He’s going 6-7 round to a team that wants to take a flyer, or signing as a free agent.
December 27th, 2023 at 4:42 PM ^
Yeah for sure. The funny one to me is MHJR, the laughable notion that the NIL money would entice him to comeback to the toilet stadium.
When you're projected to go top 5 or possibly top 3, you go, plain and simple.
December 27th, 2023 at 6:02 PM ^
Athletic potential is exactly what got Anthony Richardson drafted fourth overall last year. Ditto Trey Lance third in 2021. The important difference is that Milton will be 24 on draft day and doesn't move like those guys.
December 27th, 2023 at 3:38 PM ^
Let's all meet up after the combine. Something tells me he will look unbelievable in shorts.
December 27th, 2023 at 3:51 PM ^
I'd be less shocked if I woke up with my hair sewn to the carpet.
December 27th, 2023 at 2:31 PM ^
Hail Mary Specialist
December 27th, 2023 at 2:57 PM ^
This is funny.
December 27th, 2023 at 2:45 PM ^
Posts that slag the f*ck out of a player, then say 'hope I'm wrong. . .'
December 27th, 2023 at 3:11 PM ^
Agreed. Still, I sincerely don't wish anyone to fail, especially a kid pursuing his dream. My desires and expectations diverge.
December 27th, 2023 at 3:54 PM ^
My enduring memory of Joe Milton is his cringe-worthy interview after the 2020 MSU game in which he didn't know, or pretended not to know, who Antjuan Simmons was (Simmons had 11 tackles and was the best player on MSU's defense that day). And his demeanor as he answered that question was like he didn't think he needed to care.
Best of luck to the kid, but I'm glad he's not around anymore. There were a couple of returning players on the 2021 team who alluded to locker room issues and departed players with bad attitudes while discussing the problems with the 2020 team and the turnaround. I always suspected that Milton was who they were referring to .
December 27th, 2023 at 4:21 PM ^
There were a couple of returning players on the 2021 team who alluded to locker room issues and departed players with bad attitudes while discussing the problems with the 2020 team and the turnaround. I always suspected that Milton was who they were referring to .
The same guy who became roommates and best friends with the guy who he lost the starting job to?
December 27th, 2023 at 7:05 PM ^
You do understand that good vibes at Tennessee doesn't preclude the possibility of bad vibes at Michigan, right? It's pretty well-documented that he doesn't have particularly fond memories of his time at Michigan and that since he left, what little he's said about his three years here hasn't been altogether positive. It's possible that, for whatever reason, being at Michigan brought out the worst in him and that he needed a change of scenery and a fresh start to fix his attitude. It wouldn't be the first time in college football history.
December 27th, 2023 at 7:42 PM ^
Feel free to share a link or quote or anything of Joe actually saying something negative about Michigan. One thing.
The only things I’ve seen have been on here. Whereas there’s more than a few things I’ve seen and heard about him being an incredible teammate.
One of my favorite Milton Michigan moments was in the locker room after the Bush Paul Bunyan game when Joe yelled, “we love you coach” when Harbaugh was addressing the team in the locker room. Devin Bush started cracking up and then everyone went nuts.
December 28th, 2023 at 8:47 AM ^
They were talking about Tyrik (sp?) Black and somebody else, don't remember who.
December 27th, 2023 at 2:03 PM ^
So ridiculously typical of fools in the NFL. Who is the last rough-but-great-potential QB who made it? QB isn't about big arms. It's about cognitive processing speed and accuracy. To my eye, Milton has very little ceiling in these areas. He's had 4 years, and looks to throw and read defenses about like Justin Fields, who sucks at that. And he can't run like Fields, which is the only reason he's in the league. Even the greatest arm I've ever seen, Jeff George, bombed out because he was a head case. I'd be looking for the next Drew Brees or Brett Favre. A guy who can wiggle around and dink just enough to keep the chains moving. Throwing the ball 70 yards is almost always worth a incompletion.
December 27th, 2023 at 2:09 PM ^
Every year, there's some big-armed 6'8" QB from a D-II school with mediocre numbers who gets drafted high.
It's absolutely fools good, but if you hit on just one of these, and get a 15 year career out of someone, it almost offsets all the ones that don't hit. First one that comes to mind is Pittsburgh and Roethlisberger.
December 27th, 2023 at 2:24 PM ^
What are you talking about? I'm no fan of him or the Steelers, but Roethlisberger was like the second or third ranked QB in his class. It was Manning and then him or Rivers depending on who you asked. He was by no means a flyer.
December 27th, 2023 at 2:59 PM ^
Ben was not a surprise as a high draft choice or NFL success.
His ability was evident and he was well scouted.
December 27th, 2023 at 5:04 PM ^
Man did he take a beating against Michigan his first game starting. He also made some "how is this guy a redshirt freshman starting at a MAC school" kind of plays where you could see the talent.
December 28th, 2023 at 12:20 PM ^
Portal would have changed his college career.
December 27th, 2023 at 4:50 PM ^
Wyoming may as well be D2... and Josh Allen and his okay stats in college seem to be working out quite nicely in the NFL.
But I'm not sure Milton is that guy. Maybe he can be a Taysom Hill kinda dude?
Dunno - blah blah tennessee coaches and blah blah.. they woulda benched you if they could bro.
December 27th, 2023 at 2:20 PM ^
Favre had a huge arm. Arm strength was his primary talent.
December 27th, 2023 at 2:44 PM ^
And welfare fraud allegedly.
December 27th, 2023 at 2:57 PM ^
...and unsolicited photos of his genitalia.
December 27th, 2023 at 3:06 PM ^
Favre got the ball out quickly and moved the chains. He had above average arm strength. He was not drafted based on that or fantasy physical intangibles that needed development.
December 27th, 2023 at 2:31 PM ^
Josh Allen
December 27th, 2023 at 3:52 PM ^
Josh Allen had like a 56% completion rate against lesser competition than Milton has had. Josh Allen is also about the only guy that has actually improved his accuracy in the pros.
Someone's absolutely going to think Milton's worth a pick in the later rounds thinking they can work with him and maybe make it happen. It's not like Milton's a bad teammate or something either, I've read nothing but positive things about him. Especially if a team has multiple picks in the 4th or 5th round, taking a shot at a big reward at fairly low risk makes a lot of sense. He's got physical tools guys taken down there typically don't have.
December 27th, 2023 at 6:18 PM ^
Yup. A whole generation is going to fish for the next Josh Allen. All the physical tools, mediocre performance, and then he actually developed into one of the league's best QBs. Some team is gonna see Milton and say hey why not give it a shot
December 27th, 2023 at 9:04 PM ^
I follow Michigan football these days and not much else. However, I heard the Josh Allen buzz early in his last year at Wyoming. It seemed everyone was talking about Josh Allen and the question was whether he would last past the first round. I don't believe NFL analysts thought he was much of a risk.
On the other hand, I will be forever amazed that anyone thought Andre Ware was worth a first round pick.
December 27th, 2023 at 3:54 PM ^
Throwing the ball 70 yards is almost always worth an incompletion.
Unless it's Aaron Rodgers against the Lions on the Last Play.
December 27th, 2023 at 6:32 PM ^
Josh Allen was considered a gamble of a draft pick because he was thought to be too inaccurate even at lowly Wyoming.
December 27th, 2023 at 7:10 PM ^
Milton’s opt out reminds me of Karan Higdon’s. I think they’ll have similar NFL careers.
December 27th, 2023 at 8:11 PM ^
Brett Favre was anything but a chain-mover. He was a gunslinger with scrambling ability who took a LOT of risks that often paid off because he threw to Sterling Sharpe, Donald Driver and the rest. He had six seasons where he threw 20 or more INTs, and only one season where he threw fewer than 13.
December 27th, 2023 at 2:30 PM ^
Oh they can do something with that arm. Get the defense back out on the field.
December 27th, 2023 at 5:50 PM ^
Absolutely. There's enough arm talent there that someone will take a shot with him and figure "I can fix him". If they spend a 4th rounder on him so be it, but if anything higher than that then that's a bit too much.