Former Alabama QB gives Joe Milton some bulletin board material for the 2023 season
If there's one thing that we learned about the Tennessee Vols last season, it's that they thrive on disrespect and bulletin board material. Grant Frerking, a wide receiver for the Vols from 2017 to 2022, told AtoZ Sports earlier this year, via the Big Orange Podcast, that various "bulletin board material" items made their way […]
If there's one thing that we learned about the Tennessee Vols last season, it's that they thrive on disrespect and bulletin board material.
Grant Frerking, a wide receiver for the Vols from 2017 to 2022, told AtoZ Sports earlier this year, via the Big Orange Podcast, that various "bulletin board material" items made their way through Tennessee's locker room last season.
Former Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker echoed Frerking's words at the NFL Draft combine in April, telling reporters, "We play with a chip on our shoulder at Tennessee. We get a lot of disrespect".
Tennessee utilizes bulletin board material in the same way as the Georgia Bulldogs or even the Cincinnati Bengals in the NFL (Joe Burrow had a great take during the NFL playoffs last season on using outside noise as motivation). It may not be something that's necessary, but if it's there, why not use it?
Joe Milton, the Vols' starting quarterback in 2023, received some motivation this past week from a former Alabama quarterback.
Greg McElroy, who currently works as an analyst/radio show host, suggested earlier this month that LSU's Jayden Daniels is the best quarterback in the SEC entering the 2023 season.
McElroy cites Daniels' improvement during the 2022 season, as well as the offensive line and wide receiver group that LSU returns, as the reason he has Daniels at the top of his list.
I don't think McElroy is misguided here — Daniels had a terrific 2022 season and he show significant improvement under Brian Kelly. It's absolutely a fair take from McElroy.
But Milton should still use it as motivation. After all, the Florida native also showed significant improvement last season, albeit in a smaller sample size. Milton's performance against Clemson in the Orange Bowl was easily the best performance of his career, so he'll enter the 2023 season on a high note.
Tennessee's starting quarterback wants to be the best player in the SEC. He wants to help lead the Vols to a national championship — that's undoubtedly the goal for Tennessee in 2023. And he should use McElroy's words about Daniels as fuel. And that's not because McElroy is disrespecting Milton (he's not), but because Milton should be eager to prove McElroy wrong.
I have a feeling that college football fans are in store for a wild season. With Alabama and Georgia turning to new quarterbacks, the 2023 season could be the year that some different teams finally break through in the SEC.
Featured image via Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
