'More than just a guy that can throw it so far': Peyton Manning 'impressed' with Joe Milton's accuracy
Peyton Manning knows all about Joe Milton III and his big arm, seeing it up close and personal with a throw covering 80 yards at the Manning Passing Academy in Louisiana in June. But there’s more to Tennessee’s starting quarterback than arm strength, according to Manning.
“I was impressed with his accuracy,” Manning said Sunday night during an appearance on ‘The Nation’ on WNML in Knoxville. “Obviously the camp, they’re coaching the high school kids, but in between practices, Eli (Manning) and I go out and watch the college quarterbacks throw and certainly look amongst a very impressive group of college quarterbacks, Joe’s arm certainly stands out.
“I was impressed with his accuracy, his footwork. I can tell he has worked on those things.”
Questions about accuracy and touch, to go with his viral arm strength, is what Milton will be trying to answer as he takes over as Tennessee’s starting quarterback entering his redshirt senior season.
Joe Milton last season: 971 yards, 10 TDs, 0 INTs
He won the starting job at Tennessee before the 2021 season, the first under Josh Heupel, but suffered an ankle injury in the second half of a home loss to Pittsburgh in the second game of the season, opening the door for Hendon Hooker who took over and never looked back.
Last season Milton passed for 971 yards and 10 touchdowns, completing 65 percent of his passes over nine games while playing behind Hooker. He started in Tennessee’s 56-0 win in the regular-season finale at Vanderbilt a week after Hooker’s season-ending ACL tear, throwing for 147 yards and a touchdown while the Vols rushed for 362 yards and six touchdowns as a team.
Milton was named the Orange Bowl MVP after throwing for 251 yards and three touchdowns to lead Tennessee to the win over Clemson, connecting with Ramel Keyton, Squirrel White and Bru McCoy while the Vols were playing without Jalin Hyatt and Cedric Tillman.
“I think he wants to be more than just the guy that can throw it so far down the field, which is great,” Manning said. “We gotta be able to complete those intermediate throws and those touch passes over the middle. And I think Joe has really worked on that and I think that’s gonna show up this year for sure.
“I’m excited about him. He’s got a great attitude and (there’s) nothing like being a senior in college. He’s been through a lot. He’s transferred, he’s been different places, but having a full spring and a full summer under his belt where he is going to be the starter.”
Can Orange Bowl win help jumpstart Joe Milton’s redshirt senior season?
The last two games last season, when Milton was forced to replace Hooker, could be an important jumpstart for what Milton is trying to get accomplished this season, too.
Manning knows the feeling firsthand. He completed 12 of 19 passes for 189 yards and a touchdown as a freshman in the 1994 Gator Bowl, helping lead Tennessee to a 45-23 win over Virginia Tech at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville.
“I know what a bowl win can do for a quarterback’s confidence,” Manning said. “For me as a freshman, kind of in an alternating quarterback season, my freshman year, to go down there and have a bowl win and have that kind of to build on that all offseason.
“I know Joe is gonna feed off that win in the Orange Bowl and I think it’s gonna carry them a long way in this season.”
