Tennessee Football: Joe Milton could be a home run for Vols at QB

Tennessee football added another quarterback to its roster in former Michigan starter Joe Milton and here’s why the move could be a home run. 

When Josh Heupel became the head coach of Tennessee football, the first thing people said he needed to do was fix the quarterback position.

Heupel is certainly trying to do that and over the course of his career, he has proven to be very successful developing quarterbacks and on Monday, it was reported that his program is adding a talented arm from the transfer portal according to Rocky Top Insider.

That player is Joe Milton, the former Michigan football quarterback and four-star recruit out of Florida, not far from where Heupel used to coach.

That’s probably where the familiarity came in. And since Tennessee football doesn’t have a clear starter at quarterback, as this spring has shown, the Vols made a lot of sense for Milton too, who entered the portal prior to spring ball taking place in Ann Arbor.

What kind of fit is Milton for Tennessee football?

Milton is actually a great fit for Tennessee but more particularly, he’s a great fit to work with Heupel who really likes to push the ball down the field.

The 6-foot-5 quarterback can certainly do that. He struggled at times with accuracy last season but did have consecutive 300-yard passing games against Indiana and Michigan State.

He also does have an exceptional arm. Milton will wow you with his ability to throw the ball 60-70 yards with the flick of a wrist. When he first came to Michigan, after watching him warm-up prior to a game, Adam Schefter even said he had No. 1 overall pick potential.

Of course, that seems silly now, but sometimes all you need is the right landing spot and a change of scenery. He also walks into an open situation at QB as Caleb Calhoun breaks down at All For Tennessee: 

"“With the addition of Milton, the Vols add another elite prospect into the room at signal-caller. Virginia Tech Hokies transfer Hendon Hooker, rising sophomore Harrison Bailey, rising junior Brian Maurer and true freshman Kaidon Salter are the four scholarship quarterbacks who have been competing this spring.”"

What I like about this addition, is that there isn’t much risk for Tennessee. The quarterback situation is unsettled as it is. If Milton lives up his talent — great. If not, you aren’t really out much since he’s already a graduate transfer.

At the very least, Milton has the talent to play in the SEC. He’s a better runner than people realize and if Heupel can work his magic, he will come out smelling like roses and the Vols could have a chance to win a little sooner than expected.

Either way, the battle to be Tennessee football’s starting quarterback just got a little more interesting.