Paul Finebaum reacts to ‘most dangerous unknown’ label on Joe Milton

Tennessee quarterback Joe Milton III has made noise this offseason. Paul Finebaum is one of the voices shouting his name. He isn’t alone in his praises.

“Joe Milton is the most dangerous unknown in the country,” ESPN’s Matt Barries said. “If you look at him as an athlete, and you look at his arm as a quarterback, it’s first overall pick first, first-round pick type talent.

“If him being patient and waiting his turn behind Hendon Hooker; if he legitimately harnessed the time, the film, and the improvement, he could easily be the Heisman Trophy winner, and he can easily be a top 10 pick in the NFL [Draft]. I find him so fascinating and frightening because everything’s there. And if Heupel finds a way to get it out of him, look out, because he could be the most dangerous quarterback in the country,” Barries said.

Milton only started two games last season for Tennessee after QB1 Hendon Hooker went down with an injury. Nonetheless, the 6-foot-5 quarterback looked like a star in his limited time. Milton completed 53-of-82 (.650) passes for 971 yards and 10 touchdowns with no interceptions in two contests, including the Orange Bowl against Clemson.

While Finebaum acknowledges Milton’s overwhelming success at the end of the 2022 season, he has concerns regarding Tennessee’s strength of schedule.

“I agree and see the misfortune, of course, of [Tennessee] having to play Georgia and Alabama [in 2023]. They have a tricky game early against Florida. They get the all-time break with the nonconference game, their first game against Virginia. I mean, you could win that game by 30 or 40 points. But, I do think Florida will be a little bit uneasy because there’s so much history there.”

A difficult schedule isn’t Finebaum’s only concern. On Friday, the NCAA hammered the Volunteers with penalties for the actions of Jeremy Pruitt and former UT staff. While Tennessee didn’t receive a bowl ban, it will pay an $8 million fine, and Pruitt received a six-year show-cause penalty. A show-cause penalty means a school will have present reasons to the NCAA why it wants to hire one of them to its staff during that time period.

Barries believes the penalties won’t stop UT and Milton from a fantastic season.

“Tennessee can move past all of this. That’s what makes them dangerous to me. You can move past everything that was looming during the Pruitt era. You came off a really good season last year. You’ve got the quarterback. You have the talent,” Barries said.

On3’s Nick Schultz also contributed to this article.