Tennessee will benefit from character of McKenzie Milton in locker room

Tennessee recently brought McKenzie Milton in as an offensive analyst, giving him his start in the coaching industry. For the former UCF and Florida State quarterback, this also allowed him to reunite with Josh Heupel.

There are a lot of good reasons for Milton to have landed this job. One of which, as On3’s JD PicKell explained, is what he brings to the Tennessee locker room.

“This is a great hire,” PicKell said. “Is this going to change the game plan week to week for Tennessee? Is this going to be someone that is drawing up Alabama or Georgia? Like probably not.”

“Offensive analyst means he’s getting paid, but it does not mean he’s going to be on the grass coaching. By NCAA rule, he’s not able to be out there coaching up guys on the grass. That’s not his role,” PicKell said.

“Going to be in the box, likely, on gamedays it sounds like. Gonna be in the meeting room, but there’s still a lot that we need to talk about with this hire.”

Despite the fact that Milton won’t be coaching on the field, he will have an impact on the team. That starts with his character in the locker room.

“Obviously, y’all who have kept up with this beautiful sport for a while, you know McKenzie Milton was the quarterback for Josh Heupel for a period of time at UCF. Was, in large part, I think responsible for helping Dillon Gabriel after McKenzie Milton went down with an injury. Worked his way back from injury after transferring from Florida State, got in the game. Like one of the great stories of college football was his comeback story with getting back on the field after that horrific injury,” PicKell said.

“I’ll just start here, there is no limit to the kind of guys character-wise that you want in your locker room, like a McKenzie Milton. You can’t get enough of them. Whether it’s on your staff, whether it’s in your locker room, on your training staff, doesn’t matter, you want McKenzie Miltons in your building. That adds to the culture and that just adds to the direction of your program, and I think this is a great move by Josh Heupel. Someone he’s familiar with, someone that he trusts, has phenomenal character. Big time get, from a character standpoint, adding him onto the staff.”

Is McKenzie Milton a rising star in coaching?

This move to Tennessee is the first step in what could be a very successful coaching career for McKenzie Milton. As JD PicKell explained, he’s already seen as a potential rising figure in the coaching industry.

“I’ll say this too, just so we have it on record, McKenzie Milton, from everything I know about him, from his playing career to his character to how Josh Heupel talks about him, I think he’s a rising star in the industry. And for Tennessee to be in on the ground floor, it sounds like McKenzie Milton, according to ESPN, said it was a no-brainer when the Tennessee opportunity became available to him to join this staff,” PicKell said.

“If you’re in Knoxville, you hang onto him as long as you possibly can. I don’t think we’re that far away from McKenzie Milton eventually being a position coach to eventually being a coordinator, and who knows how far away we are from him being a head coach? I’m just saying this, I think McKenzie Milton is made of the right stuff and to have him on your staff in Knoxville to kind of help nurture this quarterback room, I think it’s a very subtle impact that could pay dividends for these guys and their progress come the fall.”