Joe Milton shares how Joey Halzle has improved his game

While Tennessee offensive coordinator Joey Halzle was only promoted to the role after last season, he has been working with quarterback Joe Milton ever since they both arrived in Rocky Top after the 2021 season.

Milton has served as the backup for head coach Josh Heupel‘s team but is getting the opportunity to lead the Volunteers this season as they aim to put themselves once again in the College Football Playoff race.

At SEC Media Days on Thursday, Milton was asked about how Halzle has helped improve his game and make him into the quarterback he is heading into the 2023 season.

“He improved me a lot,” Milton said. “Every meeting I’m willing to learn from him. He been around great guys like Coach Heup, for example, national championship winner. He pick brains, right? He challenge you to become the best player you can be every day. Just being around Coach Halzle, man, his mindset of winning, getting better every day, it’s great. It translate to you. That’s all you’re willing to do.”

Milton has started nine games in his college career, including four at Tennessee. He started the first two games of the 2021 season and the last two games of the 2022 season. The 6-foot-5 quarterback won the 2022 Orange Bowl MVP award in his last start.

He will be playing his sixth season of college football this year, spending his first three years at Michigan before transferring to Tennessee.

Milton has had three different offensive coordinators during that time: Josh Gattis, Alex Golesh and now Halzle. In his first year of college with the Wolverines, the team actually didn’t have a coordinator but the offensive was mostly called by assistant head coach, passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach Pep Hamilton.

Playing in all these different offenses — even if the offense under Tennessee is pretty much the same with the switching of the guard — has been very helpful to Milton’s growth and development.

“Absolutely,” Milton said. “The terminology for each of those coaches was different. Being able to have Coach Pep as a pro-style guy, more NFL terminology, then Coach Gattis, more of a kind of pro style but spread-ish, then Coach Heup, spread and making plays, right? It does help and translates to the next level because you get different terminology, like I said, you get a different mindset, how the plays work, how to prepare for those plays, read those plays.”