Josh Heupel explains what role Joe Milton will have from the sideline during Citrus Bowl

Tennessee Volunteers quarterback Joe Milton won’t play in the Citrus Bowl after declaring for the NFL Draft. However, as head coach Josh Heupel explained, that doesn’t mean he won’t be able to contribute on the sidelines.

Heupel praised Milton and how he has handled his career before explaining that he’s going to be there to help Nico Iamaleava get ready for the game.

“Joe has done it the right way during the course of his career,” Josh Heupel said. “You look at how everything has unfolded, he is a guy that chose to stay. Believed in his teammates what we were building, and how his coaching staff and players around him were going to help him grow as a player. Did a lot of really great things during the course of the season. He has been a huge impact on our program for game day on Monday. Be another voice to help Nico as he comes off the sidelines, things that are going on. Being able to help him get ready for the next set and also create positive energy.”

Iamaleava, who will start in place of Milton after backing him up for the regular season, was a five-star recruit in the 2023 cycle. He’s widely seen as the future of the program at the quarterback position and has thrown for 163 yards and a touchdown in four games. The Citrus Bowl will be his first start and fifth game overall, meaning it will cost him his redshirt.

“Besides being the quarterback on the field, throwing the football, making decisions, every other part of his roles that he has had during the course of the year he can still have on the sideline,” Heupel concluded.

Following the Citrus Bowl, Joe Milton will turn his attention to preparing for the NFL Draft and getting ready for the next level. For Josh Heupel’s part, he’ll turn his attention to the offseason and getting Nico Iamaleava ready to be the starter next season.

Tennessee will evaluate all options at quarterback, per Josh Heupel

According to Josh Heupel, Tennessee will continue to look at and evaluate all options at quarterback, even with Nico Iamaleava set to take over as the starter.

“I think quarterback is one of the positions, you look across the country, it’s hard to have the depth at the position that you historically may have had,” Heupel said. “We’re going to continue to always evaluate. That’s true at quarterback, but it’s true at every position here as we go through January.”