Tennessee football star shares a commonly held fan opinion on QB Joe Milton
Tennessee quarterback Joe Milton is a big guy. At 6'5", 235 pounds, he's a player who can run through opposing players when he gets into the open field. Just ask Texas A&M LB Edgerrin Cooper about that, whom Milton trucked in spectacular fashion in the Vols' 20-13 win over the Aggies. Milton also runs like […]
Tennessee quarterback Joe Milton is a big guy. At 6'5", 235 pounds, he's a player who can run through opposing players when he gets into the open field. Just ask Texas A&M LB Edgerrin Cooper about that, whom Milton trucked in spectacular fashion in the Vols' 20-13 win over the Aggies.
Milton also runs like a gazelle. He reached the fifth-fastest speed in the entire country on his 81-yard touchdown run against UT-San Antonio.
So the question pretty much all year has been: where are the planned runs for Tennessee's unicorn of a quarterback? The designed runs have mostly been few and far between through the first half of the season.
However, Milton ran a lot more last week in Tennessee's 34-20 loss to Alabama. For the game Milton was credited with 15 rushes for 59 yards. There was an obvious emphasis on getting Joe more involved as a runner, and it mostly paid off.
Milton's teammate RB Dylan Sampson addressed a question on Tuesday about his quarterback's running skills as part of the offense, and he sees the big and imposing talented runner that the fans see.
"Joe is a player that he cares so much about the game. He's willing to do everything he can to help us win. So he talks with us, and we are constantly telling him, Joe, he's big. Two-forty. Six-six two-forty. If you can run, run the ball, you know what I'm saying? He's just a competitor, just like us. Just like everybody in here. So there's times where it's a game time decision. Full speed decision, you make that play, and he's just done a good job being just aggressive and being that competitor over the past few games." – Dylan Sampson via Tennessee Athletics
Sampson's comments echo what many Tennessee fans have mused on message boards and around water coolers around the Volunteer state. With Milton's incredible athleticism, why not try to capitalize on those abilities and create another element of the offense that the defense has to account for?
If a team wants to employ man coverage down the field on Tennessee's receivers, then Milton's running abilities can be the tool to punish defenses for that strategy.
It's likely no coincidence that Milton's legs helped Tennessee put forth its best half from an offensive standpoint of the entire season in the first half last Saturday in Tuscaloosa. If the Vols' coaching staff is wise, they will employ something similar as part of their offensive package on Saturday night against the Kentucky Wildcats.
That's what most folks wearing orange in the stands – and apparently at least some on the sideline – wouldn't mind seeing more of.
Tennessee QB Joe Milton caught the attention of Kentucky’s Mark Stoops last Saturday
The Vols’ signal caller had a strong outing against Alabama, and UK’s head coach took notice
