Josh Heupel updates status of Tennessee quarterbacks Joe Milton, Hendon Hooker

Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel does not know who will start at quarterback when the Volunteers travel to Missouri on Saturday. Hendon Hooker got the start last week against Florida, but Hooker suffered an injury during the loss. Joe Milton was injured during the week leading up to Florida and wasn’t at full health entering the weekend.

Heupel on Hooker’s status

Hooker spent three seasons at Virginia Tech before opting to transfer to Tennessee this year. On the season, Hooker has completed 46 of his 70 passes for 613 yards, seven touchdowns, and one interception in limited action. He also has 136 yards rushing and one score. In his four-year collegiate career, Hooker has thrown for 3,507 yards, 29 touchdowns, and eight interceptions with 1,169 yards and 16 scores rushing.

Tennessee hung with Florida for the first half before the offense sputtered in the second half. In the game, Hooker was 13 of 23 for 221 yards and two touchdowns. He also had 23 yards on 13 rushing attempts.

“There were multiple guys that had injuries or got nicked up during the course of the ball game the other night,” Heupel said to reporters on Monday. “Don’t know where those guys are at. Hendon (Hooker) at quarterback, not sure if he’ll be available or not, so we’ll see how that transpires here during the course of the week and go from there.” 

Heupel on Milton, inconsistency from his quarterbacks

Despite not being fully ready to go, Milton was forced into action when Hooker was lost to injury against Florida. Milton did not get much work in during the week prior to the game, which showed in his performance. Against Florida, Milton was two of eight for 54 yards with one rush for six yards. Tennessee was down 17-14 after the first half, but the Volunteers struggled to move the ball in the second half and Florida ran away with the game. Ultimately, the Gators won 38-14.

“Joe was in a situation where he could play, (but) wasn’t at full 100 percent,” Heupel said of Milton. “During the week, we got him some work, but not at the same type of numbers that he would’ve gotten if he was 100 percent. Anticipate just through him playing the other night, he didn’t re-injure or aggravate anything. Continue to think that he’ll get healthier as this week goes on.” 

Overall, Heupel thinks that his quarterback was way too inconsistent in Week 4 against Florida.

“We hit a couple plays tonight, we missed a couple plays,” Heupel said after the game. “The quarterback has to move in the pocket and doesn’t hit it. We got some things underneath that are wide open too, that are big runs and catches afterwards that we don’t connect on, whether that’s the throw or the catcher. We just have to continue to get better. We’ve got to do it quicker.”