Analyzing Tennessee fans' worst case scenario following Week 1 game
The third year of the Josh Heupel era at Tennessee will see a familiar face under center. Joe Milton is now the starting quarterback after Hendon Hooker departed to the NFL, and all eyes are on how he’ll handle himself as he assumes the role once again.
Milton, of course, initially came to Tennessee as the starter after transferring from Michigan. But an injury coupled with his tendency to overthrow receivers with his rocket arm led Heupel to make a change and give Hooker the starting job. Of course, that worked out well for the Vols in the time since.
Now, it’s Milton’s show again after last year’s 11-2 record. It all starts with Saturday’s game against Virginia. It’ll be interesting to see what happens. But On3’s J.D. PicKell said he expects some major reaction if Milton winds up overthrowing receivers again.
“I think there would be some very real rants on message boards if we see Joe Milton with his cannon of an arm go out there in that first game — in Nashville, no less … against Virginia and overthrow three receivers on deep shots where the guys are open,” PicKell told Andy Staples on Andy Staples On3. “Because that’s kind of been the thing with Joe Milton. The talking point is tons of ability, he could throw an orange 90 yards. But can he throw the football to guys wide open downfield and hit them in stride and not be the ‘Overthrow Joe’ that people like to talk about on Twitter?
“Once is fine. Two is okay. It’s the first game. If I see it three times in a row, though, I’ve got real concern if I’m a Tennessee fan and I think we would see a result of that.”
Andy Staples: If Joe Milton struggles, the calls for Nico Iamaleava will grow louder at Tennessee
If Milton struggles, Staples noted Tennessee fans could start calling for star freshman Nico Iamaleava to take over at quarterback. PicKell said it’d be a little unfair to Milton if that happens, but it’s also the reality of the situation.
He looked good in the Orange Bowl a year ago against Clemson, throwing for 251 yards and three touchdowns on 19 of 28 passing. That’s why there’s so much optimism about what Milton can do as the starter this season, according to Staples.
But with Iamaleava waiting behind him, the message boards could light up if Milton struggles.
“I want Joe Milton to succeed because he’s handled everything so gracefully in his career,” Staples said. “And he’s dealt with a ton of criticism — fair and unfair — and he looked so good in the Orange Bowl against a really good Clemson defense. The hope is that all of that stuff is in his past that. Yeah, he’ll have the occasional overthrow still. But the frequent overthrowing, the lack of an ability to put some touch on the ball on a mid range throw. When we had Big Cat on the show, he said you basically mash the X button all the way down on the PlayStation controller. And he’s right. That’s basically what he’s been in his career.
“But I thought we saw more touch on the ball in the Orange Bowl. But you’re exactly right. If you see it again, like when he was the starter at Tennessee in 2021 at the beginning of the season, there will be calls for Nico. And Nico is already a beloved figure at Tennessee because of what he represented in terms of coming to them. And you can say, ‘Oh, NIL whatever.’ it doesn’t matter. He came to them as a very highly ranked quarterback recruit when they’d not been able to get one of those for a very long time. So it’s not just him, Nico Iamaleava, the quarterback. It’s what he represents, as well, in the future. So it’s a very loaded issue if Joe Milton has any sort of hiccups early on.”
Why having more weapons makes quarterback play so important for Tennessee
The biggest key for Milton will be to set up the receivers to succeed. Squirrel White and Dont’e Thornton are sure to be the focal points of the offense. That’s why PicKell said Tennessee has to maximize its weapons to be successful.
“You still gotta have somebody to dial it up and got to have somebody to hit Squirrel White in stride, hit Dont’e Thornton in stride,” PicKell said. “They got they got some weapons now. You’ve gotta be able to capitalize when they get those safeties where they want them.”
That’s why Staples said all eyes are going to be on that first half. If Milton struggles at all, the message boards could start popping.
“That one, I think, is what everybody’ll be watching, especially that first half,” Staples said. “Because that game probably gets out of hand, I would imagine. Although, if you miss three wide open touchdowns, it’s not out of hand and that’s another problem in and of itself. So again, VolQuest, get ready. If you see him airmail two, maybe get some extra servers at the ready just in case because you’re gonna need to handle the traffic win or lose. You’re probably still gonna win that game.”