Joe Milton's biggest on-field issue when he was at Michigan
The Tennessee Vols haven't announced yet who the starting quarterback will be for the season-opener against Bowling Green on September 2, but the decision seems to be trending toward Michigan transfer Joe Milton. Milton, who has three years of eligibility remaining, has been praised this fall for his strong arm, ability to pick up yards […]
The Tennessee Vols haven't announced yet who the starting quarterback will be for the season-opener against Bowling Green on September 2, but the decision seems to be trending toward Michigan transfer Joe Milton.
Milton, who has three years of eligibility remaining, has been praised this fall for his strong arm, ability to pick up yards with his legs, and his impressive size (6-foot-5/244 lbs).
The strong arm is the attribute that's been standing out the most for Milton this fall.
Milton's strong arm could be a huge weapon for the Vols. But it could also be a curse.
When Milton was at Michigan, one of his biggest struggles was dialing back his arm strength and throwing with "touch".
"I throw so hard, so it’s been pretty hard to touch up the ball," said Milton while at Michigan in 2019 (via Detroit Free Press).
It's an issue that Milton worked on before leaving Ann Arbor.
Here's what Michigan offensive coordinator Josh Gattis had to say about Milton and his "touch" last fall.
From The Columbus Dispatch:
“Everyone’s got all five fingers,” Gattis said with a laugh. “No fingers getting jammed out there, no one losing anything. His accuracy has been exceptional. That was one of the things we have talked about as far as taking RPMs off, knowing how to give a catchable ball.”
Gattis added that accuracy in ball placement has never been an issue for Milton, but whether receivers could handle the heat was an occasional problem.
Some of Tennessee's wide receivers have noted this fall that Milton's ball has more heat on it than it does coming from other quarterbacks.
That sounds almost like a comment that former Michigan cornerback Lavert Hill (who now plays for the Philadelphia Eagles) made in 2019.
If Milton is going to be the guy for the Vols this fall, he'll have to save his cannon of an arm for the right situation. It's obviously a great tool to have, but Tennessee can't afford to drop passes in third-down situations because the ball was thrown with too much velocity.
Milton's a hard worker, so I'm sure this is an area where he's been putting in a lot of work this offseason.
Featured image via Junfu Han via Imagn Content Services/Saul Young/News Sentinel via Imagn Content Services
