Vols senior explains how Joe Milton and Hendon Hooker are different as leaders
Former Tennessee Vols quarterback Hendon Hooker and current UT quarterback Joe Milton have an incredibly close friendship. Hooker and Milton, who both transferred to Tennessee ahead of the 2021 season, competed with each other the last two years in Knoxville. But that didn't prevent a close friendship from developing between the two talented quarterbacks. With […]
Former Tennessee Vols quarterback Hendon Hooker and current UT quarterback Joe Milton have an incredibly close friendship.
Hooker and Milton, who both transferred to Tennessee ahead of the 2021 season, competed with each other the last two years in Knoxville. But that didn't prevent a close friendship from developing between the two talented quarterbacks.
With Hooker moving on to the NFL (he was selected by the Detroit Lions in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft), it will be the Milton show this fall on Rocky Top.
Milton started the final two games of the 2022 season for the Vols (after Hooker tore his ACL) and he went 2-0 in those starts. The win against Clemson in the Orange Bowl, specifically, showed that Milton is ready to excel in his role as an SEC starting quarterback.
While there will be plenty of similarities between Milton and Hooker, these are still two different players who will have their own approach.
One way that Milton's approach will be different than Hooker's is when it comes to leadership.
Vols senior offensive lineman Cooper Mays, Tennessee's starting center, recently appeared on "Off the Hook Sports" and he was asked about the leadership styles of Milton and Hooker.
Mays explained that Milton is a more vocal leader than Hooker was at UT.
"I would say Joe is probably a little bit more up in your face and vocal," explained Mays. "Hendon never had any problem, you know, using his voice and getting on somebody's butt or calling people out. He never had a problem with that, obviously, but it was always a little bit more reserved. He would talk when he needed to. But other than that, it was very soft spoken. You know, kind of off to the side. I mean, not that he was trying to avoid anything, but he definitely wasn't going to be the guy that was talking all the time."
Every quarterback has their own leadership style. And it's clear that Heupel allows his quarterbacks to just be themselves — he isn't trying to force them to be something they're not.
For Hooker, that meant being a bit more on the quiet side. But for Milton, that's going to mean being a little louder. Maybe that means we'll see a little more swagger from the Vols this season since teams tend to take on the personality of their quarterback.
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