Adding McKenzie Milton will help Joe Milton process offense

McKenzie Milton joined the Tennessee football staff as an analyst fresh off his playing days at UCF and Florida State, but it could really help Joe Milton.

Joe Milton took over for Hendon Hooker when the latter suffered a season ending injury. With Hooker off to the NFL, it’s Milton’s time to shine.

But he could have quite the assistance from McKenzie Milton who played at a really high level.

“I think, ripple effect or one of the first impact pieces of McKenzie Milton joining the staff as an offensive analyst, remember what Joe Milton credited a lot of his success to a season ago,” On3’s J.D. PicKell said on The Hard Count. “It was Hendon Hooker. Hendon Hooker goes down with an injury and he is essentially a second coach for Joe Milton throughout the bowl game and obviously they were very tight. And I’m sure he will still utilize him as Hendon Hooker is now with the Detroit Lions. But no longer is Hendon Hooker in that meeting room with him. No longer is he able to process things in real time with Joe Milton.” 

McKenzie Milton wasn’t exactly the same after his career-threatening injury. But he showed moxie at Florida State and was a superstar at UCF. He knows what he’s doing.

Joe Milton meanwhile found a resurgence at Tennessee when he stepped in for Hooker.

“So with that being said, I think McKenzie Milton could be a phenomenal sounding board to take what Austin Price said from VolQuest, could be a phenomenal sounding board for Joe Milton,” PicKell said. “Someone to run ideas through, someone that can give different messaging to Joe Milton than maybe a typical coach would in a different age group. I’m not saying Joe Milton still isn’t getting great coaching from everybody else on the staff. 

“But I think it’s worth noting that you have a guy who’s not super far removed from his playing career, who did it at a really high level in the same system for the same coach. I think that matters. Could be sort of that older brother figure that it sounds like Hendon Hooker was in some ways for Joe Milton.”

Last year, Joe Milton finished 53-of-82 passing (64.6%) for 971 yards, 10 touchdowns, zero interceptions and added 77 rushing yards. The passing efficiency stood out.

As a member of the Class of 2018, Milton was a four-star recruit out of Orlando (Fla.) Olympia, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He was the No. 42 overall prospect in the state, the No. 17 quarterback in the class and the No. 242 overall prospect in the class.