What to make of Joe Milton after Vols' win against Clemson in the Orange Bowl
Tennessee Vols head coach Josh Heupel was adamant this week that quarterback Joe Milton's performance in the Orange Bowl wouldn't impact the quarterback battle that's set to take place in the spring. Everyone knows, however, that Milton's performance in the Orange Bowl was an evaluation tool for Heupel and his staff. It's the best film […]
Tennessee Vols head coach Josh Heupel was adamant this week that quarterback Joe Milton's performance in the Orange Bowl wouldn't impact the quarterback battle that's set to take place in the spring.
Everyone knows, however, that Milton's performance in the Orange Bowl was an evaluation tool for Heupel and his staff. It's the best film that Tennessee's staff has of Milton in live game action. And while it won't be what determines whether or not Milton wins the job in the spring, it'll be a big part of Heupel's quarterback decision next spring.
So what should we make of Milton's game against Clemson?
What to make of Vols QB Joe Milton's performance against Clemson
It was clear that Tennessee's plan at the start of the game was to get Milton into a rhythm. The first seven plays of the game for the Vols were pass plays. Tennessee knew they couldn't win the game by just running the ball — Clemson has an elite run defense — so they worked early to get Milton comfortable in the pocket.
For the most part, I thought Milton did a nice job with his throws. There were a couple where he could've thrown the ball with more touch, but he didn't have a bunch of egregious overthrows like many expected.
One underrated aspect of Milton's game is his ability to throw the ball into tight windows.
Milton, who has thrown 144 passes at Tennessee without an interception, showed an ability several times against Clemson to thread the needle and find his receivers.
The only real negative about Milton on Friday night was that his pocket awareness was questionable at times.
It felt like when the pocket collapsed, Milton wasn't decisive enough, which led to several sacks.
There were numerous situations where Milton could've tucked the ball and ran for a first down, but he was too hesitant and he ended up on the ground. He wasn't able to cleanly escape pressure and get into the open field where he could use his size and speed to create splash running plays.
That's the one aspect of Milton's game that has to change if the Vols are going to compete for a championship in 2023. He showed enough improvement in the passing game that I think Tennessee's offense can be just as explosive in 2023 as it was in 2022. But the Vols will need Milton to pick up some third and longs with his legs, otherwise, we're going to see some promising Tennessee drives stall out next season (that's one thing that Hendon Hooker did extremely well in 2022).
Milton still has to go out and win the job in the spring — he'll have to be consistent in practice. But I think overall, Vols fans should be feeling pretty good about what they saw from Milton on Friday night in the Orange Bowl.
Featured image via Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
