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'He's committed to being great here': How Joe Milton III earned Jacob Warren's respect

IMG_3593by:Grant Ramey•07/24/23•

GrantRamey

Joe Milton
MIAMI GARDENS, FLORIDA - DECEMBER 30: Joe Milton III #7 of the Tennessee Volunteers celebrates after defeating the Clemson Tigers in the Capital One Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium on December 30, 2022 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images)

It’s not something Joe Milton III did on the field. Not his 6-foot-5, 235-pound frame or the cannon attached to his right shoulder. Instead, Tennessee tight end Jacob Warren saw all he needed to see from his quarterback after the 2021 season.

“The one thing that built my respect for Joe the most,” Warren said Thursday at SEC Media Days in Nashville, was the fact that he stayed, man. 

“He had every (right), maybe not every right, but everyone could understand why he would leave, want to go play, because he’s obviously a great talent, a really big weapon for us.”

Joe Milton III won Tennessee’s starting QB job in 2021, before suffering an ankle injury

Milton transferred to Tennessee from Michigan following the 2020 season and joined an open quarterback competition with the Vols, most notably against Hendon Hooker. Josh Heupel, entering his first season as head coach of the Vols, and his staff ultimately picked Milton after their first fall camp. 

He started in the season-opening win over Bowling Green, accounting for 183 yards and three total touchdowns in the 38-6 win, and was back out there in Week 2 against Pitt. But in the second half of the 41-34 loss to the Panthers, an ankle injury sidelined Milton and opened the door for Hooker.

Hooker took over the job and never let go, throwing for 6,080 yards and 58 touchdowns and running for 1,046 more yards and scoring 10 times on the ground over 24 career games with the Vols. 

But Milton stayed put, spending two seasons waiting his turn. 

“The fact that he stayed — he just learned from Hendon and also helped Hendon out in a lot of different areas of the game — has truly showed me he’s committed to this place,” Warren said. “He’s committed to being great here. 

“He really likes being here. He loves all the guys on the team. He’ll tell you that, too. He gets along super well with pretty much everybody on the team.”

Jacob Warren: ‘The goal will always be the same … to win the SEC East’

All Tennessee did with Hooker last season was win 11 games for the first time since 2001 and debut at No. 1 in the first College Football Playoff Top 25 of the season in November, after starting 8-0 with wins over Alabama, LSU and Florida. 

But Warren, the Knoxville native out of Farragut High School, returned for his redshirt senior season after the Vols failed to meet their goal a year ago. 

“The goal will always be the same,” Warren said. “The goal will be to win the SEC East. If you do that, that sets you up to go do everything you want. Opportunity to play in the SEC Championship, get the opportunity if you win that to go play in the national championship. Obviously the College Football Playoff is going to look different here the next few years.

“If we win those games, you set yourself up for everything you want.”

Milton, the quarterback who long ago earned Warren’s respect, will be the one trying to lead his team to everything they want.

“Definitely super excited to see him take that leadership into this season,” Warren said, “and perform the way we all know he can.”

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