Joe Milton was a four-star recruit from Olympia High School in Orlando Florida. His high school stats weren’t eye-popping but that wasn’t the reason he was highly sought after. Milton was 6’5″ and had some of the best arm talent in the country. He was a hard-nosed quarterback with the heart of a lion. He could make plays at any level of the field and showed incredible athleticism. This was the reason Jim Harbaugh called and gave him the chance to come to be the starter of the Michigan Wolverines.
Going into his freshman and sophomore seasons in Ann Arbor, Milton was ready to impress but was put on hold. Harbaugh liked what he had in starting quarterback Shea Patterson. This was going to allow Milton to learn and gain experience over his first two years at Michigan. In his third year at Michigan, he finally got his chance to start and his opening game came against a ranked Minnesota team. He flashed greatness and led Michigan to a decisive win against their Big Ten rivals. The next three games wouldn’t go so well and the decline in Milton’s play was noticeable. He got the start against Rutgers but struggled early on and was benched for freshman Cade McNamara. That would lead to Milton taking his talents to Knoxville, Tennessee.
Joe Milton was announced the starter in his first year at Tennessee but got injured in Week 2. Hooker didn’t relinquish the job the rest of the season. Going into 2022, Hooker would remain the starter. Milton did get some chances to play and when he did, he balled out. He went on to throw for 970 yards, 10 touchdowns, and zero interceptions.
Milton would have a chance to start again. 2023 was a step back for the Tennessee Volunteers as they lost an abundance of players to the NFL draft. In 2023, Milton would play well but not great. In 12 games played, he had a completion percentage of 64.7%, 2,813 yards, 20 touchdowns, and five interceptions. College went just like his high school career: he was all potential but had yet to play at a consistent enough level to garner any significant attention.
When watching the tape it’s impossible not to acknowledge the potential and the physical traits Joe Milton possesses. Watching him sling the ball downfield is a treat as not many players can do that in the world, but he can do it with just the flick of a wrist. Milton also tweaked his throwing motion during his lengthy college career. He now throws with much more velocity being able to put the ball in tight windows.
When he finds a clean way out of the pocket he can make great throws on the run. He is still working on using his entire body to throw the ball so it’s only a matter of time before he can get the ball even further downfield. He is pretty much just a create-a-player with empty stats in the processing area. This game takes more than just raw talent and athleticism.
He has a lot of work to do when it comes to the mental part of the game and some of his mechanics need serious tweaking. Milton has very spotty accuracy when throwing the ball downfield, often overthrowing his guys when streaking down the field. He often struggles to read the field and needs to be better when processing complex defenses that the NFL might play against him. Tennesee is not an offense that translates well to the NFL. He will need to be more elusive when it comes to escaping the pocket, often relying on the same maneuvers when getting out of the pocket.
Being a 24-year-old quarterback is also going to affect his chances of being taken anything other than late in the draft. Milton is a project who will inevitably win over teams with his pure raw athleticism but to play at a high level in the NFL he will need to completely relearn the position. His football IQ is what will end up pushing the scouts away as he will need to sit behind a starter for years before being able to process the field at a high level. He will need to work on his pre and post-snap reads so he can continue to keep the ball out of harm’s way.
Joe Milton will have the senior bowl and NFL combine to continue to improve his draft stock. Milton has the raw potential to be what every NFL team wants a quarterback. Teams will be hesitant because he has been in and out as the starting quarterback multiple times during his college career. The question now is can he finally become a starter and keep the job by playing consistently throughout the length of an entire season? How patient are teams willing to be with Milton?
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