On3 Roundtable: Sharing what Joe Milton learned from Hendon Hooker

After a dominant season from Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker that unfortunately ended in injury, it’s now Joe Milton‘s turn to take over the reins of the Volunteer offense. Milton and Hooker were close friends and roommates during their time together in Knoxville, but VolQuest‘s Brent Hubbs revealed to Andy Staples that the duo has also learned valuable lessons from one another.

“I think the unwritten story, or not talked about a whole lot story, is how much Hendon Hooker helped Joe Milton last year and even the year before,” Hubbs said. “Joe’s a fun-loving guy, he’s not immature I don’t want anybody to think that, but he’s a guy where it’s playing a game, it is backyard playing a game. Which is great, but you also have to have a little bit of a business-like approach in your preparation.”

Not many handled business the way Hooker did last season, throwing for 3,135 yards and 27 touchdown passes last season in his 11 games. But he was also one of the nation’s most efficient passers completing 69.6% of his pass attempts with an 89.4 quarterback rating, throwing just two interceptions on the year.

Apparently, some of Hooker’s approach and habits rubbed off on Milton, a quarterback regarded as one with heaps of talent but not quite as polished of a passer or decision-maker prior to his arrival at Tennessee.

“I think those two played off each other extremely well the last year and a half, and I think Joe’s takeaway from Hendon Hooker is balancing the backyard we’re going out for recess on a Saturday in front of a hundred-thousand people versus let’s go play recess where we know what’s going to happen before it ever happens, and I think that’s been good for Joe,” Hubbs said.

Milton flashed some of his progression as a quarterback in the Orange Bowl last year versus Clemson, one of two games he started in for the injured Hooker. He impressed with a Hendon-esc 251-yard, three-touchdown, no interception performance on a 67.9% completion percentage leading Tennessee to their 11th win of the season, which Hubbs attributed to two a pair of factors.

“Well, I think you’ve got two things,” Hubbs said. “One, you had a month to get ready to play against an opponent, which helped, and you had a month knowing you were the guy. You could kind of catch your breath there.”

“Two, here’s the other thing, he watched the NFL Draft. He saw where guys were going, guy like Anthony Richardson just booming up the radar and up the draft boards. This is a big-time opportunity for him and he knows it.”

It’s no secret that the drafting of quarterbacks has changed in recent history, as NFL teams are more willing to select less refined prospects with more physical upside in an attempt to develop them.

There’s no doubt that Milton is oozing with the physical tools to be an NFL quarterback, standing at 6-foot-5, 234 pounds, and recently displaying the ability to throw the ball around 85 yards downfield. But if he can display the growth and efficiency that his former roommate displayed last season for the Volunteers, there’s no question that Milton’s draft stock could skyrocket in 2023.