Josh Heupel updates the status of Tennessee quarterback Joe Milton III
Josh Heupel on Monday said he anticipates quarterback Joe Milton III to be ready to play for No. 21 Tennessee when the Vols host South Carolina on Saturday night at Neyland Stadium. Milton wore a brace in the second half against UTSA Saturday after an awkward tackle late in the first half.
“I can’t believe it took this long to get that question,” Heupel said during his weekly Monday press conference. “I know there’s a picture out there, but for us, routinely on Sundays, we’re gonna make sure that our players are healthy.”
The picture floating around on Sunday appeared to show Milton checking in at a medical center.
He was slow to get up after being tackled late in the first half of the 45-14 win over UTSA Saturday at Neyland Stadium. He stayed in the game to finish the first half and played the second half with a brace on his knee and what appeared to be a slight limp.
“We have diagnostics inside and with our doctors,” Heupel said on Monday. “But we’re gonna make sure that medically they check up on him as well. And Joe’s been good. Feels good. He’s with us today, so anticipate him being ready to go play really well.”
Milton completed 18 of 31 passes for 209 yards and two touchdowns. He started the game with an 81-yard touchdown on the first play from scrimmage and finished with five rushes for 89 yards.
He completed 14 of 16 passes to start the game, then missed his next eight. He missed three straight attempts to start the second half then went 4-for-7 from there.
Milton was asked about the status of his knee after the game and downplayed any injury concern.
“I’m pretty good,” Milton said. “You get banged up in football. But one of the guys had my leg and the other guys tackled me. That’s part of football. Body wise, I feel great.”
Milton, who grabbed at the left knee after being taken to the ground, was also asked if the hit concerned him about his knee when it happened.
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“It did at first,” he said. “When I got up I moved and I moved my leg, I was fine.”
Milton was one of a handful of Tennessee players who were either slow to get up after hits or left the game with injuries. Players that did not return included starting running back and leading rusher Jaylen Wright, starting receiver Bru McCoy, starting wide receiver Ramel Keyton, starting left tackle John Campbell, starting linebacker Aaron Beasley and starting defensive end Dominic Bailey.
Heupel didn’t sound concerned about any of the injuries after the game, though.
“Yeah, we had multiple guys,” he said. “Feel like we should have most of those guys back here next week. I’ll know more here (Sunday when we) back in the building.”
Tennessee scored on its first two possessions against UTSA and built a 31-0 late in the second quarter. The Vols sputtered in the third quarter, outscored 14-0, before getting back in the end zone twice in the fourth.
“A week ago I talked about self-inflicted wounds,” Heupel said, “not playing smart on the offense side of the football. Curbing ourselves. And this last one, we didn’t do those things. So that allows you to play in tempo, allows you to be ahead of the chains or in manageable situations where you’re not third-and-15.
“And that helps everybody out. It helps your quarterback out. It helps your offensive line out. It helps us stay in the rhythm, helps us move the football.”
