McKenzie Milton reveals first-round NFL grade before injury: “I thank God it all worked out”
McKenzie Milton’s football journey is already one of the most remarkable in college football history, but during a recent UCFast Cast Podcast appearance, the former UCF star revealed a new detail that added even more weight to his story.
Now UCF’s quarterbacks coach, Milton revealed to hosts Myles Montgomery and Jaden Nixon that in the days leading up to his catastrophic leg injury in 2018, he was told he had received a first-round NFL Draft grade.
“The week I got hurt, my dad called me, you know, talking to an agent. Got a first-round grade,” Milton said. “I was like, ‘Man, okay. We got two more games and then we made it.’ And that just wasn’t His plans.”
The devastating injury occurred in the second quarter of UCF’s regular-season finale at South Florida on Nov. 23, 2018. The damage was extensive—dislocation, arterial damage, nerve damage—and multiple surgeries followed, including one to save the leg from amputation. His remarkable recovery and eventual return to football at Florida State in 2021 made national headlines.
Yet Milton now believes the injury, as difficult as it was, ultimately led him to where he was supposed to be.
“At that time, I didn’t know I needed that,” Milton said. “I would have been in the NFL with a bunch of money…
“And then I met my wife the next year. So if I didn’t get hurt, we probably never meet. I wouldn’t have my two kids.”
Milton’s wife, Jany, and their two young children are now central to his life, something he said likely never would have happened had his football career followed the path he once envisioned.
“I thank God it all worked out the way it did,” Milton said. “By His grace, we’re back here now. So it’s gonna be fun.”
Even before the catastrophic injury, Milton described 2018 as the “hardest year” of his playing career. He battled through multiple injuries, yet still led UCF to a 10–0 start and extended the Knights’ nation-leading win streak before the fateful game in Tampa.
Milton said he suffered high-ankle sprains in Game 1 at UConn and Game 4 vs. Pittsburgh, as well as a Grade 4 AC shoulder separation in Game 6 at Memphis. He sat out the following week at ECU, when quarterback Darriel Mack Jr. led UCF to a 37–10 win in Greenville.
Milton said he drew inspiration from former teammate Aaron Evans, who consistently pushed through pain.
“This guy’s playing with like three herniated discs in his back, like can barely walk out to practice,” Milton said. “His leg is numb the whole season, and he’s fighting through. And I see him doing that, trying to protect little old 180-pound KZ.”
Milton covers much more in the podcast, including memories from the undefeated 2017 season.
“We had a team that was a family, super tight,” Milton said. “That’s where the best memories are at—in the locker room. And we just had fun every day.
“I think that’s what made us special. We had a hurricane that season. We played, I think, 10 straight games with no bye week.
“But we embraced it together. And nobody really gave us a shot against Auburn.
“Like, we knew we were the better team. And, like I said, I played one of my worst games—and we still beat them. And that’s why I think that team could go up against anybody, any team that year, and beat them. Just because we had the talent, and we had a team that didn’t flinch, whatever was thrown at them.
“So there ain’t no secret recipe, really. It’s just the teams that come together, peak at the right time, and know each other’s got their back through thick and thin. And that’s what we had.”
Make sure to check out the full episode.
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