On3 Roundtable: What the addition of McKenzie Milton to Vols staff means to Nico Iamaleava, Joe Milton

McKenzie Milton went through many ups and downs throughout his college football playing career, and now he’ll hope to pass on what he learned as an offensive analyst at Tennessee. The Vols hired Milton this offseason, where he reunites with coach Josh Heupel, whom he played quarterback for at UCF.

McKenzie Milton is expected to work closely with the Tennessee quarterbacks in a year where the position is undergoing a transition. With last year’s starter Hendon Hooker on to the NFL, Joe Milton is set to take the reigns of the offense.

VolQuest‘s Austin Price joined JD PicKell for an On3 Roundtable discussion, where he explained why he believes McKenzie Milton can be a mentor for Joe Milton as both take on new roles.

“I think he can be a nice help to Joe,” Price said. “He’s not gonna have Hendon in there every day. McKenzie Milton’s just wrapping up his playing career, so he and Joe are around the same age. I think he can be a nice sounding board for Joe.”

Of course, McKenzie Milton will work with more than just Joe Milton. Five-star true freshman Nico Iamaleava is another player who could benefit from McKenzie Milton’s tutelage. The No. 6 overall player and No. 3 quarterback according to the On3 Industry Rating, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies, Iamaleava has a good chance to take over once Joe Milton graduates.

The move will also benefit McKenzie Milton as he tries to kick off his coaching career. Working with a well-known program like Tennessee could lead to other opportunities down the road, especially if the Volunteers have another successful season.

“I think it helps Nico going forward,” Price said. “It helps Joe in the short term and it gives McKenzie and chance to kind of get a leg up on his coaching career, so to speak, by having some talent around him and being able to relate. Being able to be relatable is huge, whether it be in recruiting as a younger coach (or) whether it be as a coach that’s trying to find his way with a team that he’s helping out as a (quality control coach) or (graduate assistant).”

While at UCF, McKenzie Milton was part of two of the best seasons in program history. He helped lead the Knights to an undefeated 13-0 season in 2017, then turned around to lead them to another undefeated regular season in 2018. The quarterback earned AAC Offensive Player of the Year honors both seasons.

Unfortunately, during UCF’s final regular season game in 2018, McKenzie Milton suffered a gruesome knee injury that altered the course of his career. He later went on to have several surgeries on his knee and it was a longshot that he would ever play again. Still, McKenzie Milton remained on the team until Heupel left for Tennessee in 2021.

That’s when the quarterback left UCF to transfer to Florida State, miraculously returning to the field after nearly three years. Now with his playing days behind him, McKenzie Milton reunites with Heupel at Tennessee, and the pair will hope to find just as much success as they did together in Orlando.

“I think McKenzie is someone that Josh Heupel trusts,” Price said. “It says a lot about, even though Heupel left UCF and McKenzie Milton kind of went his way to FSU, these two parties kind of reconnected and he can definitely be an asset for all parties involved in that quarterback room.”