Florida players threw some shade at Tennessee Vols QB Joe Milton
Earlier this summer, Tennessee Vols quarterback Joe Milton answered a question about beating Clemson in the Orange Bowl by telling a reporter "I don't lose in Florida". Milton, who is from Florida, made the comment during a media session at the Manning Passing Academy in Louisiana. "It was very meaningful," said Milton when asked what […]
Earlier this summer, Tennessee Vols quarterback Joe Milton answered a question about beating Clemson in the Orange Bowl by telling a reporter "I don't lose in Florida".
Milton, who is from Florida, made the comment during a media session at the Manning Passing Academy in Louisiana.
"It was very meaningful," said Milton when asked what it meant to beat Clemson while playing close to home. "I don't lose in Florida. I took that one to the heart. Pretty much take every game to the heart, but I don't lose in Florida."
Milton later clarified his comment in an interview with The Athletic.
“I got to fix that, be a little more detailed on what I meant,” said Milton to The Athletic's Joe Rexrode during SEC Media Days. “That wasn’t meant for bulletin boards, that was just about my confidence level in my coaches and my team.”
Florida players weren't thinking about Milton's clarification on Saturday night after Tennessee's 29-16 loss in Gainesville. Instead, they focused on the original comment while throwing some shade at Milton.
"You talk mess before the game and you lose, you expect to get stuff back," said Florida edge rusher Princely Umanmielen on Wednesday. "I did it to Joe Milton last week. So, it is what it is."
Gators running back Treyaun Webb also took to Twitter to throw some shade at Milton.
Milton certainly could've played better against Florida, but that goes for everyone on Tennessee's roster. Milton is far from the main reason why the Vols lost to Florida (pre-snap penalties and offensive line play massively hurt UT against the Gators).
But anytime a player says the words "I don't lose", they have to know there's a risk it'll come back to haunt them — regardless of the context.
Milton may not be the main reason why Tennessee lost to Florida, but I'm sure he was aware that he'd hear it from Florida players if the Vols didn't leave Gainesville with a win.
While I'm sure it's frustrating for Milton, the best thing he can do is flush the loss and move on. It happened and there's nothing that can be done about it now. Milton would be wise, however, to use the shade from Florida as motivation moving forward.
Tennessee Football joins Butch Jones on an unenviable list
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Featured image via Chris Watkins-USA TODAY Sports
