Should Tennessee fans be worried about quarterback Joe Milton III after his performance against Austin Peay? There’s certainly reason to think so.
Milton completed just one of his first eight passes against the lowly Governors. Is it cause for concern or too soon to raise the alarm? Either way, Milton was less than stellar Saturday night.
Tight end Jacob Warren isn’t letting Milton shoulder all the blame. On the Vol Report with Jacob Warren, Warren was asked about Milton and the team mentality when things aren’t going as expected.
“I think the teams that are actually good and that compete for championships get a lot better as the season goes on,” Warren said. “Everybody starts this season trying to figure out where they are, what they are, the kind of team they are.”
Pointing the finger at Milton, deserved as it may be, was not the focus of Warren and the Vols’ offense. “Whether it’s the wide receivers’ fault, whether it’s the quarterback’s fault, or the offensive line’s fault, it doesn’t matter at the end of the day.” said Warren, “We’re all the offense and if the offense is not producing, then you know we’re all failing.”
It begs the question; how does the rest of the team push on when their quarterback is struggling to complete passes? According to Warren, the attention was always on the next play and the next drive. Focusing on their quarterback’s shortcomings would do no good.
“At the end of the day… one-of-eight (completions), it doesn’t really matter because there’s nothing that we can do about those last drives,” said Warren.
Keeping the faith and looking forward were keys to Tennessee’s success on Saturday, eventually beating the Govs 30-13. Warren and his offense didn’t question their leadership, even with the sluggish start.
“There’s (still) just as much confidence in the play calls and quarterbacks and the wide receivers,” Warren said.
Warren praised his team’s ability to bounce back after the disappointing beginning to the game.
“I think you need to have that snap-and-clear mentality to be any good at this game.” Warren noted, “We’re kind of forced to implement it. It’s good that we’re able to bring it back in and just have that confidence and stay calm when things aren’t necessarily going well.
Milton finished the game 21-of-33 for 228 yards and two passing touchdowns. It may only be two weeks into the season, but improvements are certainly called for Tennessee’s passing game, especially with a trip to Florida on Saturday.
