Tennessee QB Joe Milton caught the attention of Kentucky's Mark Stoops last Saturday
The Tennessee Volunteers' 34-20 loss to the Alabama Crimson Tide last Saturday was a painful one for UT fans, as the Vols squandered a brilliant first half performance that saw Tennessee up by 13 points at halftime. However, it wasn't all bad, as Tennessee QB Joe Milton had his best showing of the season. He […]
The Tennessee Volunteers' 34-20 loss to the Alabama Crimson Tide last Saturday was a painful one for UT fans, as the Vols squandered a brilliant first half performance that saw Tennessee up by 13 points at halftime.
However, it wasn't all bad, as Tennessee QB Joe Milton had his best showing of the season. He completed 28 of 41 passes for 278 yards and 2 touchdowns. His first half performance was particularly impressive, as he showed touch and precision on a number of throws, including his touchdown tosses to Squirrel White for 39 yards and McCallan Castles for 6 yards.
That performance caught the attention of Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops. Asked at his Monday press conference about the difference between Tennessee's offenses the last two years led by Hendon Hooker and Milton, Stoops was effusive in his praise of the latter, specifically his showing in Tuscaloosa.
"I think it's very similar in a lot of ways," Stoops said. "I think this past week you saw Joe really throwing some good deep passes and some very accurate – they had one, maybe one drop in a critical moment – and they had some nice (plays), but they're the same and that they could really be explosive at any moment."
Stoops also talked about Milton's ability to use his legs and the challenge that brings.
"The thing is with Joe is he could pull it down. They could have designed quarterback runs. They could have designed QB draws, and he does a nice job of buying time as well to scramble for yards or to scramble to buy some time to get the ball down the field. So anytime you're playing a guy like that, it puts a lot of stress on the defensive line."
It seemed like Josh Heupel and Joey Halzle made an emphasis on getting Milton involved running the football last week, as Milton had a season-high 15 rushes for 59 yards.
Now, Kentucky will have to deal with a quarterback that can stretch his defense deep down the field, but who can take off with his defense spread apart when things aren't open. And it seems as though that already has Stoops worried and looking to figure that out as the leadup to Saturday's rivalry clash continues.
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