Josh Heupel confirms one suspicion from this season about Tennessee QB Joe Milton
For much of the 2023 season, Tennessee Vols fans have wondered why quarterback Joe Milton hasn't tried to pick up yards with his legs more often. Aside from an 81-yard touchdown run against UTSA, a play (a non-scramble) where Milton was never touched, the redshirt senior quarterback rushed for only 25 yards in four games […]
For much of the 2023 season, Tennessee Vols fans have wondered why quarterback Joe Milton hasn't tried to pick up yards with his legs more often.
Aside from an 81-yard touchdown run against UTSA, a play (a non-scramble) where Milton was never touched, the redshirt senior quarterback rushed for only 25 yards in four games from September 9 to September 30 after rushing for 33 yards in the season-opener against Virginia.
Earlier this month, we speculated that Milton wasn't running as often because of an injured knee and some bruised ribs that he suffered in Tennessee's Week Two win against Austin Peay.
On Wednesday night during Vol Calls, Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel appeared to confirm that theory.
"Joe was banged up in the early part of the year," said Heupel when asked about Milton running more the last two games. "You try to limit his exposure as he’s trying to get healthy. So all those factors play into ultimately what we do to try to put ourselves in the best position to play as well as we can. And also be able to have a guy for four full quarters and for future games.”
Milton rushed for 34 yards in the Vols' win against Texas A&M on October 14. He then rushed for 59 yards in Tennessee's loss to Alabama last weekend.
It would appear that Heupel and his staff made an effort to keep Milton healthy, via limiting his running opportunities, as he recovered from the knee injury and the bruised ribs. That likely led to some situations where Milton ducked out of bounds a bit early to avoid a big hit. Now that he's a bit healthier, he hasn't been shying away from contact.
Tennessee doesn't have much depth at quarterback beyond Milton. And while true freshman sensation Nico Iamaleava is patiently waiting in the wings with seemingly limitless potential, the last thing Heupel and his staff want is a situation where they have only one scholarship quarterback available. Keeping Milton healthy early this season has been especially important because of that lack of depth.
Fortunately for the Vols, it appears that Milton is in a much better spot health-wise for the second half of the season. There's no doubt that his legs will be needed if Tennessee is going get to double-digit wins for the second straight year.
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