Tennessee quarterback Joe Milton challenged the Vols’ scout team defense to be better in practice before Saturday’s matchup against the University of Texas-San Antonio. He may have faced a better defense last week than he faced on Saturday.
The Vols beat UTSA 45-14 to bounce back from the Florida loss that Tennessee suffered a week before. It didn’t take long to see there was a huge difference between the Roadrunners and the Gators. On Tennessee’s first play, Milton kept the ball on an option play and galloped 81 yards for a touchdown. It was readily apparent early that the Vols wouldn’t be seriously challenged against the American Athletic Conference foe that was served up in Neyland Stadium.
While it’s difficult to draw strong conclusions about the Vols against such a lessor foe, there are a couple of questions that were answered against the Roadrunners. Most importantly, the Vols came out early and showed they had plenty of fight despite being Gator bitten a week before. There have been plenty of Tennessee teams that showed up flat the week after a loss to Florida. This isn’t that sort of team and, like it or not, Milton is a big part of that.
Still questioning Milton? His dedication shouldn’t be doubted after he returned to the game without missing a snap following a scary tackle in which his knee seemed twisted as he went down awkwardly.
Still questioning the Vols’ dedication to Milton? Don’t. It would have been easy for Tennessee’s coaches to take a look at freshman Nico Iamaleava to begin the second half, especially considering Milton had just tweaked his knee. Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel chose not to do that before pulling him in the fourth quarter.
While there has been growing talk amongst fans and media about playing freshman Nico Iamaleava, it shouldn’t be easily forgotten that Milton is widely thought of as a strong, beloved leader in the Vols’ locker room. No, that’s not the same thing as throwing five touchdowns in a win against Alabama, but it’s significant. Milton’s completion percentage is important, but so is his teammates willingness to play hard for him.
Milton finished the UTSA game completing 18-of-31 passes for 209 yards and two touchdowns, which included a beautiful 48-yard touchdown pass to Ramel Keyton, who was well covered when the Roadrunners had 12 players on the field. Milton also ran for 89 yards on five carries. On the other hand, there was also a streak of eight incomplete passes including a poorly thrown ball that would have resulted in a touchdown to receiver Squirrel White. It seems as if Tennessee will just have to take the bad with the good when it comes to Milton.
Again, taking the opponent into account, the Vols answered some other questions offensively. They got off to a great start, which wasn’t always the case in UT’s banner year last season, ran the football effectively and seemed much more in synch on the offensive line, which is still without preseason All-SEC center Cooper Mays. So was the Florida game just an aberration or was UTSA just that bad? The South Carolina game on Saturday should provide some of the answers to those questions.
While Milton is one of the key leaders for the Vols, he’s not the only one. Tennessee was its best after a loss last season as well. The Vols hammered Missouri and Vanderbilt in 2022 after losses to Georgia and South Carolina, respectively. Many of the leaders that kept the Vols at a championship level last season are still on the roster. Many of those leaders are strong supporters of Milton, which has to factor into any pending decision that Tennessee coach Josh Heupel might have to make about the Vols’ quarterback decision in the future.
Credit Heupel with how he made things a bit easier on Milton against the Roadrunners. Running the option with Milton can be a big part of Tennessee’s attack given his speed and size. A deft shovel pass in the third quarter also gobbled up some yards. Also, whether or not you like the multitude of screen passes that the Vols call with Milton at the helm, there is good reason why Tennessee continues to call those plays. The Vols have to eventually force opponents to play a bit closer to the line of scrimmage instead of dropping deep into coverage to take away the Vols’ deep passing game. Successful short passes and a stout running game will do that – eventually.
While it’s easy to criticize Milton’s accuracy and decision making at times, it’s also every bit as pertinent to credit him for his leadership. After a subpar game against Austin Peay, Milton and UT’s leaders held a players-only meeting to assess a subpar performance. Then, Milton started a group chat with the Vols’ scout team to prepare for the Roadrunners. In other words, Milton has done everything right to rally the troops in the face of adversity other than be as accurate as one might like.
While the Vols’ loss to Florida may say more about Tennessee than a rout against the Roadrunners, there’s plenty of reason to believe that Milton can, indeed, lead the Vols to a successful season and keep Tennessee in championship contention. He and Heupel just need to keep fine tuning.
