Josh Heupel can’t escape his original sin of targeting Joe Milton III when he transferred from the Michigan Wolverines three years ago. As Tennessee Football enters a new era with Nico Iamaleava, there is a lack of outward confidence in the Vols because of so many things that stem from that specific decision.
In trying to move past it, Heupel and Halzle both accidentally acknowledged the mistake at the media session to kick off fall camp Tuesday. Heupel touted the state of the program and what he has built since taking over in 2021, but he acknowledged what he referred to as “speed bumps.”
“There were speed bumps that we had to navigate,” he said. “We’ve handled that in a really positive way. You look at the trajectory of where we’re going on all sides, just couldn’t be more excited about where we have an opportunity to get to.”
Some of the speed bumps were out of his control. The NCAA investigation, a mass exodus of players entering the portal and last year’s injury bug (assuming he doesn’t have a poor conditioning program) all factors into that. However, the most obvious speed bump for Tennessee Football was Milton.
Heupel cleared the field for Milton, dismissing Kaidon Salter and nudging Harrison Bailey and Brian Maurer into the transfer portal. He then wrongly named Milton the starter over Hendon Hooker to begin 2021, flipping on that a month later.
Milton stayed, which earned the respect of his teammates, and that forced Heupel to keep him as the starter in 2023, a stopgap year until this year with Iamaleava that saw the Vols suffer a major drop-off. Through it all, Milton was never a good fit for this offense. That nearly derailed Heupel doing everything else right.
“We have to be diligent and intentional in the way we compete every single day,” Heupel said of building the roster. “Certainly, with those speed bumps that we inherited when we first got here, we’ve been able to navigate extremely well and really those aren’t a part of things that we have to deal with as we move forward.”
If you think those comments by Heupel are too vague, consider what he said specifically about the passing game and things they need to work on. Heupel mentioned something that was held back last year because of Milton’s accuracy woes.
“A lot of that was red zone efficiency and penalties in the red zone,” he said. “We’ve got to be better. We’ve been intentional in our work through that throughout the course of spring ball, but we have to come back and be a smarter team and be more efficient and effective in that area.”
You heard him. Red zone efficiency. Tennessee Football was able to move the ball with Milton, but they continually struggled to finish drives, which is the opposite of what Heupel wants to do. He cares about scoring, not moving the ball. That comment was a direct shot at Milton.
Then there is offensive coordinator Joey Halzle. He took it a step further, without mentioning Milton, to bring up an issue with the offense from last year that goes right back to Milton. It also goes right to the goal of Heupel’s offense: the big play.
“It’s not for lack of taking the shots, but we were just a step off for whatever reason,” Halzle said of not hitting big plays last year. “That has been our entire thing, is if you go out there, cut it loose. Whatever is your job on that particular play, let it rip at 100 miles an hour, and then positive things are going to happen.”
Again, without saying it, Halzle couldn’t hide the fact that no big plays was a result of Milton’s limitations, and that was a KILLER for Tennessee Football. Heupel wants to score in six plays or less, and everything is about those plays being there.
It’s a new day on Rocky Top, and Tennessee Football fans should be excited. The Vols are moving forward with Iamaleava. Milton is a good guy who is now with the New England Patriots. Everybody’s happy. However, it’s likely this misread on a quarterback will haunt Heupel for years.
