Josh Heupel on play of Joe Milton in Tennessee season opener

Tennessee has begun its 2021 season with a 28-6 victory over Bowling Green. Quarterback Joe Milton saw mixed results in the contest after winning Tennessee’s quarterback battle during the preseason. Milton started the game off playing well, but he and the offense struggled as the game went on.

Tennessee has a few things to clean up offensively

The Volunteers were led by a strong rushing attack. They ran for 326 yards and four touchdowns on 64 attempts. That includes 14 attempts for 44 yards and two touchdowns from Milton. Milton started the game completing 9 of his first 11 pass attempts. From there, things broke down and Milton finished the game 11-of-23 with 140 yards and a touchdown. As Milton started to struggle, Tennessee was forced to turn almost exclusively to the running game.

Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel said after the game that the offense as a whole needs to clean things up moving forward. That begins with Milton at quarterback.

“[Going to the run game] was what [Bowling Green] was doing,” Heupel said. “We felt like we had an opportunity because of their drop-8 coverages. There were a couple of times that I didn’t like his decision making. There were some things that were open; a couple of guys running open down the middle of the football field that he didn’t recognize or see. There are some things that he has to clean up. Offensively, we will have to clean up a bunch of things, too. At the same time, there were some positives that came out of it as well.

“[Joe Milton] started well and then protection started breaking down. He’s scrambling around and doesn’t have his eyes in the right spot and misses someone running down the middle of the field. Everyone played a part in it.”

Heupel never considered making a change at quarterback

Despite Milton’s struggles down the stretch, a quarterback switch was not something that Heupel considered. Instead, Tennessee stuck with Milton and hopes that it proves as an opportunity to learn from his mistakes.

“No. There wasn’t anything that was earth-shattering that felt like we had to make a change,” Heupel said when asked if he considered pulling Milton. “We believe in Joe. We believe in the other two guys too, we really do. Strength in a position can never be one guy. They’re all going to have to compete and get better. Joe will need to continue to get better too.

“We’ll have a chance to go back and watch the tape. Guys are going to continue to improve. It’s the first time we played the system inside of a live football game and it was in Neyland Stadium. There were a lot of really good things and a lot we can get better at, too.”