Florida State QB McKenzie Milton could be most impactful transfer addition

McKenzie Milton had tremendous success in his time at Central Florida. Following a gruesome leg injury, a lengthy recovery and the emergence of another signal caller at UCF, the veteran quarterback elected to transfer to Florida State ahead of this season. And according to Fox Sports’ Joel Klatt, Milton could be the most impactful transfer in all of college football.

Milton has not played since 2018 due to leg injury

Late in the 2018 season, Milton went down with a major leg injury. The injury forced him to miss the remainder of the 2018 season, as well as the entirety of both 2019 and 2020. With Dillon Gabriel having emerged as a strong quarterback at UCF, Milton elected to transfer so that he had an opportunity to play football again. He ultimately ended up at Florida State, a program that is in desperate need of leadership on and off the field, especially from the quarterback position.

“He hasn’t played in a couple of years and the injury was horrific the last time we saw him,” Fox Big Noon Kickoff’s Joel Klatt said. “For me, if you look back into the last five or six years at the most impactful transfers in college football, they’re all quarterbacks. Why? Because they can change your program immediately. This is the type of guy that can do that. Not only because of his stellar play, I mean he’s undefeated as a starter. He’s an excellent player. Two-time AAC offensive player of the year. To me, it’s even more than that.

“This is a program at Florida State that desperately needs leadership. They have just not had it, particularly from the quarterback position. They need it badly, a veteran, mature player like this. I think he can do wonders not only for the play on the field, but for the chemistry in the locker room. That’s why I think McKenzie Milton will be one of, if not the, most impactful transfers this year in college football.”

UCF saw tremendous success with Milton at QB

In his collegiate career, Milton has thrown for 8,683 yards, 72 touchdowns and 22 interceptions. He has run for another 1,078 yards and 20 touchdowns. In his two full seasons as UCF’s starter, the Knights did not lose a single game. They went undefeated in 2017 on their way to a Peach Bowl victory over Auburn. In 2018, UCF was undefeated in the regular season. Milton was eighth in Heisman voting in 2017 and sixth in 2018. He has shown that he is capable of leading a team to sustained success.

When he was nearing his return from injury, Milton knew that he was not going to do that at UCF. Gabriel was playing well enough to where Milton didn’t think Gabriel deserved to be put into a quarterback competition. Milton understood that the keys have been handed over to Gabriel, and him not wanting to mess Gabriel up demonstrates his leadership in addition to his desire to chase his NFL dream.

“I have one shot to go chase a dream,” Milton said when he announced his intent to transfer. “A lifelong dream to play in the NFL. It’s hard, it’s one of the hardest things for me to do. But it makes the most sense. This is Dillon Gabriel’s team now.”

Former UCF head coach and current Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel spoke highly of Milton from their time together at UCF. Heupel said that Milton’s leadership abilities are tremendous, something that should be a welcome addition to Florida State’s program.

“He is, in my opinion, the most influential person that has ever come through UCF’s program,” Heupel said.