Everything Joe Milton III, Nico Iamaleava said after Tennessee's Orange & White Game

Everything Tennessee quarterbacks Joe Milton III and Nico Iamaleava said during their postgame press conference after Saturday’s Orange & White Game at Neyland Stadium, where Milton completed 9 of 13 passes for 79 yards and a touchdown and Iamaleava was 8-for-16 for 112 yards and a touchdown:

Five-star freshman Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava

His relationship with Joe Milton III

“Yeah, I’ve always looked up to Joe. On my recruiting visits, when I met him, I always knew he was going to be her for me when I got in here. So it’s been tremendous, man. He’s been real big helping me out with the offense and everything, the playbook. Off the field, too. We’re like brothers. It’s been a cool ride with us.”

His throw to Ethan Davis, outside of the pocket and on the run

“Yeah, I think our whole quarterback room can make plays on the run. Coach Joey (Halzle) and Coach Mitch (Militello) do a good job repping it in practice. Also when I go back home and train, we work on a lot of off-platform throws, on the run. I think those training habits help me successful today.”

If he could sense the crowd reaction when he came into the Orange & White Game

“Shoot, I was pretty locked in on the play, man. First play, so I wasn’t trying to mess nothing up. I wasn’t really aware of the crowd reaction.”

What he thought of playing in front of nearly 60,000 fans in a spring game

“I thought the atmosphere was great, man. Felt like a real game out there, besides the other half of the stands (in the south end zone). I thought the atmosphere was great.”

The leis he and Joe Milton III wore during their postgame press conference

“It’s pretty much a traditional thing my family does. After every game they’ll have a lei for me. They seen Joe so they brought one for him too.”

If he had any nerves when he went into the spring game for the first time in a Tennessee uniform

“Nah, not nervous. I think for me at the end of the day, it’s just football. Go out there and play and have fun. But nah, I think it was just because I messed that lay up earlier in spring practice this week. So I was just (thinking) I’m not messing this play up again. I was locked in on that one.”

His thoughts on his overall play on Saturday

“I thought I did ok. I thought I we could’ve scored more when we got down to the red zone. Finish drives off more. But we’re working. We’ll get to that point where it’s green when we get down there in the red zone. But I thought overall as an offense we did ok.”

His plans for the summer portion of the offseason

“Always want to get better any time we have some offseason breaks, anything like that. Really just fixing my mechanics up more to this offense. I think that was a big jump for me, getting the mechanics down in this offense. Go back home and lock in on that stuff and I’ll be fine.”

Tennessee redshirt senior quarterback Joe Milton III

How much he dislikes touch sacks for quarterbacks in practice and scrimmages

“A lot. Tremendously. A lot. Just because it’s not real. And I understand guys may put a hand on you and it may look like a clean sack. These days of football, you break out of those sacks. I feel like it’s pretty bad.”

How much things have changed for him over the last couple years

“Nothing has pretty much changed. I kind of go everyday as I was last year, just preparing and getting ready because you never know when your time is called. Just like last year. I didn’t know my time was going to get called. Just kept repping it, kept getting better. Kept pushing Hendon. And now I get more reps when I talk to Nico and the rest of the quarterback room, Gaston and Navy. I get more reps of the mental aspect of it, just because I have to explain it to someone else. That preps you to be more prepared when those situations come.”

How he felt the play-calling went, working with quarterbacks coach and new Tennessee offensive coordinator Joey Halzle from the coaching booth

“I felt great. Everybody had opportunities to define themselves as a Tennessee Vol. I felt like it was great. Coach Halzle, everybody messes up, but I don’t know, with that guy it seems to be kind of hard (on himself) when he messes up. I’m not jinxing it, but it’s kind of hard to see him mess up because he prepares the right way. He’s always in the building. Even though he’s a coach, he’s always getting ready.”

What he’s trying to get accomplished over the next couple months, during the summer portion of the Tennessee offseason

“Overall. Just my game overall. Anything can get cleaned up. It can go from mental to physicality stuff. Just everything. Improve so Tennessee can be Tennessee.”

The long pass down the sideline to Kaleb Webb, what he saw from him during Tennessee’s spring game

“Kaleb has been working hard, before spring and during spring. So just giving him the opportunity to go show off his last name and help his family and put points on the board for Tennessee, it’s just another great day. That kid works so hard, man. And it showed.”

The points of emphasis he had for himself entering the spring

“Have fun. That’s it.”

If he’s not had fun in the past

“I did, but I was pretty much more focused on what I have to do in the playbook. What do my coaches want for plays? It’s more different from when I first got here until now. I don’t have to go read relearn this play twice. I can understand what’s going on. My coach calls a play, I know what’s going on. And I’m able to, if Nico has a question or Navy or Gaston has a question, I can explain it just how my coach would to me.”

How important the upcoming season is for him personally and for this Tennessee team

“It’s a lot on the plate. But the most important thing, like I said earlier, is just having fun. I trust everybody on the team. I trust every coach in the building. It doesn’t matter who it is, everybody is important in the building. The most important thing is having that bond, communication, everybody trusting everybody. Everybody has to buy into Tennessee. Last year is last year. We can’t go back and change it, can’t go back and help it. The only thing, what’s most important now, is this year.”

How proud he is to watch Hendon Hooker’s stock climb through the NFL Draft process 

“Man, it’s impressive. The guy called me after every visit, so I could understand what was going on and also just because he’s a very humble person. He doesn’t like putting things on social media. He’s not that type of person. So all his achievements, he’ll just come to be and we’ll just talk about it. We’ll be happy about it together. I’m really proud of Hendon and the things he’s accomplished. The teams he went to go visit, the knowledge he got back from those guys. Man, I can’t be no more proud than anyone. Keep going, man. That’s all I can say to him.”