Vols senior answers question about team's confidence in Joe Milton and fans calling for Nico Iamaleava
It didn't take long for a portion of the Tennessee Vols fan base to call for true freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava. If you're a Vols fan who's active on social media, you likely saw some Facebook posts or tweets from fans suggesting that it's time for Tennessee to see what Iamaleava has to offer after […]
It didn't take long for a portion of the Tennessee Vols fan base to call for true freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava.
If you're a Vols fan who's active on social media, you likely saw some Facebook posts or tweets from fans suggesting that it's time for Tennessee to see what Iamaleava has to offer after watching the offense struggle through the first three weeks of the season.
On Sunday, Vols redshirt senior tight end Jacob Warren joined "Off the Hook Sports" for his weekly appearance he was asked by host Dave Hooker about the team's confidence in starting quarterback Joe Milton after Tennessee's loss to Florida.
Warren was also asked about the calls for Nico from a portion of the fan base.
"The guy (Milton) made some crazy throws last night (against Florida), made some amazing throws last night and made some good plays on his feet," said Warren when asked about the confidence in Milton. "[He] gets the offense into a position to be successful whenever things aren't necessarily going right. And kind of takes command of his group and of these guys. That's something that we all see and we're all super thankful for."
"From the outside looking in, obviously I'm not really sure how it looks because I'm not on the outside, I purely see just what the situation is," added Warren. "And I see all the problems that maybe took place last night and I understand where they come from. I understand, not who to blame, but I know that it doesn't all just fall on that guy (Milton). And I think that he takes a lot of negative energy and a lot of negative talk and — man, you're entitled to your opinion, but I think the guy is still extremely talented. And I think he is the guy that can give us a lot of success and I think as we get going again and as everybody gets better and as he gets better and he learns a lot of things about just playing this game against really good teams, I think we'll be fine. I have the most confidence in him."
As far as the talk about Nico, Warren acknowledged that he hears the noise.
"Yeah, it was the same thing back in 2019, 2020 with Harrison Bailey and all these guys that are great quarterbacks," said Warren. "The room was full of talent and everybody's got an opinion about who should be the starter, who should be playing. At the end of the day, you can hear the talk, you can hear about it, whatever. And Nico's a great talent. [He's] my roommate on the road right now. I enjoy hanging out with him."
"Not my decision at all (on who starts)," added Warren. "I think that we have confidence in our guy right now. And we have confidence in the backups as well. End of the day is we're gonna go out there and we're gonna play and whoever is behind us, we trust him. But for right now, I think that, you know, talk all you want, right? You can have your opinions if you'd like."
There are certainly things that Milton needs to do better, but it's hard to disagree with Warren when he says that it's not all on Milton. The offensive line didn't play well on Saturday night in Gainesville. And the wide receivers have been inconsistent at times early this season as well. Until those two areas get fixed, it's hard to expect any quarterback to play to their potential.
Josh Heupel wants Joe Milton to do something that he hasn’t done well as college player
Tennessee Vols HC Josh Heupel wants Joe Milton to do something that he hasn’t done well as college player
Featured image via Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports
