SIAP: Don’t look now, but QB1 for Vols is “Joe Milton’s to lose”
I live in TN, if my name wasn’t a giveaway, and talk radio this week has all said the same thing for the Vols QB depth chart: Milton is #1 and Bailey #2.
”If camp started today, Milton would be the starter”.
Not going to lie, I didn’t see that coming, at least not for this year. Good luck to Milton if that does end up being the case. It’s hard to really judge a QBs performance at Michigan when we’ve been so dysfunctional at the position.
August 7th, 2021 at 10:55 AM ^
Can’t edit OP, but meant “if season started today” not camp.
Also, article that shows Vegas agrees on him winning the job:
http://www.rockytoptalk.com/platform/amp/2021/8/4/22609641/odds-joe-milton-favored-to-win-starting-quarterback-job-tennessee-vols-football-harrison-bailey
August 7th, 2021 at 12:20 PM ^
What’s the over/under on games before he is replaced?
What if he wins the Heisman at Tenn?
? OH the horror!!!
August 7th, 2021 at 11:23 PM ^
Anybody know what offense Tennessee runs?
They will probably run whatever offense will take best advantage of Milton's skills. What a concept.
August 8th, 2021 at 10:30 AM ^
And what offense is that?
Based on the games I watched last year of Tennessee it was "whatever we can possibly do to run the ball and not throw it". And considering none of the younger guys on the roster could beat out THAT guy, Milton should be able to compete with them.
I'm not exactly sold on Gattis either, so if Milton does good at UT, good on him. I'm sure I'll catch about half the games.
August 7th, 2021 at 10:59 AM ^
Sounds like he volunteered.
August 7th, 2021 at 12:42 PM ^
It was Rocky to get to the Top!
Laughing hilarious dot gif!
August 7th, 2021 at 11:01 AM ^
Joe Milton is the unexpected starter. This is not a big red warning sign about the state of the program. He's just so damn good, couldn't keep him on the bench. Right?
...I don't know if that's how things work in Tennessee, but that's how we do it here.
August 7th, 2021 at 12:12 PM ^
What if Milton ends up playing very well for UT this year.
I wouldn’t be surprised. I guess that’s what happens when you become dead inside.
I hope he does- I just hope Michigan's QB plays better! Milton clearly had talent but couldn't put it all together.
I understand the mindset- but last year was really hard on a lot of people. Look no further than college basketball where the top 3 recruiting classes (UK, UNC, Duke) finished as two teams that didn't even make the tournament and an 8 seed that got annihilated by Wisconsin in the first round.
Throw last year in the trash and see what happens. And of course there's the likelihood Michigan underwhelms again- but there's also a chance they don't!
Agreed! I love Joe Milton as a young man. Heard nothing but a leader that I would be happy if my daughter brought him home. I wish him nothing but the best.
What good leader when asked about MSU's linebacker last year responds with "Who?" and says "...he wasn't on my radar."?
Would not surprise me AT ALL if Milton starts and does well. The Michigan offense can not be more dysfunctional. Harbaugh does not believe in the offense his hand picked (after knowing him for 48 hours) OC runs. Last years opener against Minnesota was a fine offense performance. Then...pfffttt. Charbonnet disappears. Milton looks completely confused.
What the fuck happened? My belief: Harbaugh is so fucking stubborn he insisted on running his offense despite the success of speed in space. And by being so stubborn he blew up Milton. And Charbonnet. And DPJ. And he winds up signing a contract worth half of the previous one.
Hello! Hello?? Anyone home?
It worked for Costanza. He held out for less money with NBC.
I think the fact that Cade walked in and immediately started running the offense the way it was designed to run indicates that Milton just wasn’t doing that. And then I assume he wasn’t running the offense correctly because he couldn’t make the reads real time. No conspiracy theory required for this one, Milton just didn’t have it last year. I wish him great success at Tennessee
August 7th, 2021 at 11:57 PM ^
Correct. Milton couldn’t find the end zone against Rutgers.
He did make some “wow” throws, but more often made “what?!” reads
August 8th, 2021 at 12:35 AM ^
Milton was raw last season. He had zero touch on short passes. Made baffling reads and odd decisions too often. Couldn't hit on the long ball. If Tennessee turns him into a good QB then maybe we should hire their QB coach.
Lakeyale13's comment is the creepiest thing I've read on the internet today.
Really? Your Internet must be way less creepy than my Internet.
I guess you hadn't read the Omar Vizquel article yet?
Everyone here forgets that he injured his thumb on his throwing hand bad enough in the MSU game that he had to have surgery right after the season. He didn't complain, didn't complain when Cade came in etc. The hate this young man gets here is unbelievable - best of luck to him at Tennessee will be interesting to see how he does as well as Dylan playing for his dad @ Northern Colorado.
Im not sure Milton does have the talent. Sure he’s got great size and strength, it takes much more to be a good qb. I do know one thing, even IF he has the ability to be a D1 CFB qb, it will take even the most talented coaches more than one off season to undo the 2 years of damage that Harbaugh and co did to him.
I wish him the best but I'm not sure you can teach someone in college how to.be an accurate passer. You can improve things a bit, but some people just have an ability to throw accurate passes consistently and others don't. Denard and Milton both had about a 48 % completion rate in HS. That is very telling. So far, there is nothing Milton has shown to contradict his past. A canon of an arm to be sure but that doesn't make you accurate.
delete
August 7th, 2021 at 11:04 AM ^
I can think of at least two reasons for this. First, maybe he was impacted by his thumb injury last season and now he’s fully healthy. Second, maybe he looks great in practice when he’s wearing the “don’t hit the QB” jersey and doesn’t have to worry about getting hit.
August 7th, 2021 at 11:20 AM ^
The second one for sure. He’s a solid QB in a practice setting because he can focus on his mechanics and really show that arm talent. When he gets pressured and has to worry about getting hit, his mechanics break down and that’s when his throws become erratic and inaccurate.
If you let the guy just stand there and throw, he has a phenomenal arm that makes you say “wow,” but that all goes to shit once he has to face live pressure.
August 7th, 2021 at 11:35 AM ^
Yes, let's blame the young QB, working under a coaching staff that has gone through 19 new system changes in 7 years and cannot seem to understand anything happening in terms of game flow, and playing behind an offensive line that was one of the worst in the Big Ten per PFF.
It's just so laughable that in the pre-season, the coaches and players talked about how great this dude was and they had no doubts he was going to be one of the best QBs in the country.
And three months later, it's all on him.
I will be excited for whatever new coaching staff actually develops the players they recruit rather than just continuing to kick the can down the road with transfers and blaming the scheme.
August 7th, 2021 at 11:43 AM ^
“It's just so laughable that in the pre-season, the coaches and players talked about how great this dude was and they had no doubts he was going to be one of the best QBs in the country.”
Yeah, that’s the part where he’s a great practice QB because he excels at standing there and throwing the ball when he can focus on his mechanics and rely on his arm talent. Going up against our poor secondary in the preseason probably didn’t hurt him either.
He gets pressured and thats when we see his mechanics go out the window and he becomes erratic. That’s when we see him turf a pass on a 5 yard slant. That’s when we see him launch a ball 20 yards over a receiver’s head. That’s when we see him hit a linebacker square in the chest with no receivers within 10 yards.
Good QBs are still able to make plays once things break down. Good QBs are able to improvise and maintain good mechanics and a semblance of accuracy. Joe couldn’t do any of that. It’s easy for any QB to stand in a clean pocket and make throws. That’s not a sign of a good QB.
If you’re a QB who struggles when you face any type of pressure, you’re not going to go very far.
Maybe they did, but I just don't remember anyone saying he would be one of the best QBs in the country. Hopes were high that he might be ONE of the better QBs in the Big Ten. Sorry it didn't work out, how he plays for Tenn isn't something I'm concerned about. I hope we get good QB play as that will be absolutely critical to having a solid season.
Then you weren't listening to Sam, because he threw out A LOT of comparisons. He repeatedly said Milton was the best QB in practice "and it's not particularly close". And he added "and that's not just *my* opinion".
I recollect the word "Heisman" being thrown out there, too.
Sam, bless him, tends to hyperbole. Plus, the "best QB in practice" (for one team) is a long way from "one of the best QBs in the country," and as for the other comment I didn't hear any references to a Heisman.
August 7th, 2021 at 11:53 AM ^
It's almost like the coaching AND Milton sucked.
August 7th, 2021 at 12:21 PM ^
Leo, did you watch him play against teams other than Minnesota last year?
August 7th, 2021 at 12:51 PM ^
I did.
He had a decent game against MSU and an even better game against Indiana.
I think the Wisconsin game really shook him and then it was over.
And I don't blame him. Working behind a really bad offensive line with a coaching staff that has shown absolutely no trust in any QB with constantly shifting schemes and poaching grad transfers.
I'm fully convinced now, more than ever, that no QB can develop at Michigan. It says a lot to me that the best QB under Harbaugh so far was a 5th year starter that already pretty much understood what it took to be a Big Ten QB. Since then, it's all been downhill.
Good points and counterpoints. There were a lot of moving parts or reasons why Joe Milton didn't rise to expectations at Michigan last season.
We can only HOPE that the QB position under Harbaugh becomes much better and lives up closer, at least, to expectations this season. I'll be optimistic at this time because it's only the 2nd day of fall camp. There's a long way to go in this marathon length of a full season.
As for Joe Milton's fortunes or misfortunes down at TN, it will reveal a lot about the Michigan program last year, should Joe actually be very successful this season for the Vols.
...stay tuned to the Vols this season...
Weird, he wasn’t very good in either of those games. Took 51 attempts against MSU to get 300 yards and no scores. Then a pair of picks against Indiana. I wouldn’t say he was “awful,” but he sure didn’t look very impressive either.
For perspective, Cade had half the attempts yet had more TDs and didn’t throw a single pick to Milton’s 4. You can try to take the blame off of Milton as much as you’d like, but Cade dealt with the same circumstances and didn’t have nearly the same struggles that Milton did.
I’m sure he’s a great guy and he has a hell of an arm. But when the bright lights came on and people wanted to hit him, his mechanics went out the window and he became an inaccurate mess. Some guys have the physical tools but their mental makeup isn’t in the right place to be a good QB. I wish him the best at UT but until he proves it on the field, he’ll just be a good practice QB that has the look of a great one that can’t seem to put it together in a game.
From my untrained armchair eye, it seemed like Milton's biggest issue was anticipating when guys would be open and throwing it during that window. I looked like he was waiting for guys to be open, then he would throw it, and by the time he released, they were not open anymore.
I thought Cade did a better job of hitting guys in that window, and this made it seems like he had more control and rhythm to the offense when he was in.
August 7th, 2021 at 11:46 PM ^
Yeah I’d hardly say he looked great against IU or MSU.
I don't know where this is coming from, but Milton did not have a decent game against MSU.
He averaged 5.9 yards per attempt and had 0 touchdowns. He also tried to give the ball away, but MSU wouldn't take it.
Leo, did you watch him play against teams other than Minnesota last year?
Beyond that, to find out in following weeks how unexpectedly bad Minnesota was.
Cade was given the same hand, and he outperformed Milton by a mile. Maybe the game plan suited Cade more, but that will be a hard sell as Milton was the starter throughout the camp. Still, I wish him best and hope that he finds his way to the NFL as he seemed to be a really good kid.
Cade came in against Wisconsin when Wisconsin was up 900 points- I could have came in and given some production at that point.
And he had one great game against a pretty bad Rutgers team.
We need to SLOW DOWN with the McNamara hype.
Saying he played better than Milton is not the same thing as overhyping him.
August 10th, 2021 at 12:43 AM ^
LOL!! Amen Brother! Thank you
Or, it's his second year in live fire at the college level, and the game is starting to "slow down" for him. This is a real thing, everything moves really, really fast at first. He clearly showed potential early on, but then the wheels came off, the defense did him exactly zero favors (I'd say they actually stole food from his plate). So yeah, I'm not that surprised really. Good for Joe, I hope he does well. Wish he could have stuck around, but I get it.