LOOK: McKenzie Milton makes incredible uniform gesture in Hula Bowl
McKenzie Milton has been through a lot during his college football career. He began his career at UCF, before a gruesome leg injury resulted in a lengthy recovery. Eventually, he transferred to Florida State to round out his college football days. But on Saturday, Milton returned to the Bounce House, UCF’s home football stadium, to play one final collegiate game in the Hula Bowl.
In the Hula Bowl, Milton made an incredible gesture towards UCF with his helmet. On the right side of his helmet, Milton had a Florida State decal, and on the left was a decal for UCF.
In his lone season at Florida State this year, Milton split time with Jordan Travis at quarterback. On the year, Milton completed 58.3 percent of his passes for 775 yards, three touchdowns and six interceptions.
Hula Bowl allowed one last opportunity for Milton to thank UCF
Milton saw a tremendous amount of success as UCF’s starting quarterback. He began his collegiate career in 2016, throwing for 1,983 yards, 10 touchdowns and seven interceptions. In 2017, Milton became UCF’s full time starter, and the Knights did not lose a single game over the next two years with Milton in the starting lineup.
During the 2017 season, Milton threw for more than 4,000 yards with 45 total touchdowns and nine interceptions. In 2018, he threw for 2,663 yards and six interceptions with 34 total touchdowns. Overall, Milton finished his college career with 9,458 yards, 75 touchdowns and 28 interceptions through the air. He also rushed for more than 1,000 yards with 20 touchdowns.
Milton finished eighth in Heisman voting in 2017 and sixth in 2018. But despite his success, by the time he returned to full health following his injury, he knew that the UCF starting quarterback job was no longer his. Dillon Gabriel had stepped up in Milton’s absence, and Milton didn’t want to force Gabriel into a quarterback competition.
Instead, Milton entered the transfer portal and went to Florida State. When making his announcement, Milton acknowledged that UCF was Gabriel’s team now. To chase his dream of playing in the NFL, transferring was Milton’s best option.
“I have one shot to go chase a dream,” Milton said when he announced his intent to transfer. “A lifelong dream to play in the NFL. It’s hard, it’s one of the hardest things for me to do. But it makes the most sense. This is Dillon Gabriel’s team now.”
Everywhere he goes, Milton has big impacts on the people around him. Regardless of his success on the field, he plays a big role. Former UCF and now Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel spoke highly of Milton’s impact on the UCF program when Milton entered the portal.
“He is, in my opinion, the most influential person that has ever come through UCF’s program,” Heupel said.
As his college career comes to a close, Milton was able to, in part, become a UCF Knight one final time. Now, he looks to move forward with his football career and chase his ultimate dream.