Joe Milton III 'competing against himself' while helping Nico Iamaleava transition with Vols
Hendon Hooker is no longer standing in the way of Joe Milton III and Tennessee’s starting quarterback position. That doesn’t matter according to quarterbacks coach and newly promoted offensive coordinator Joey Halzle.
Milton, Tennessee’s 6-foot-5, 242-pound redshirt senior quarterback, has all the competition he needs day in and day out.
“Joe knows that he is competing against himself,” Halzle said last week, “that’s been the switch that he has made. He doesn’t need something external motivating him, he’s motivated by himself. He is trying to go out and be the best he is, he knows he’s got one year of eligibility left and he is trying to take advantage of it.”
Hooker is off to the NFL after exhausting his collegiate eligibility with two extremely productive seasons at Tennessee, throwing for 6,080 yards, 58 touchdowns and just five interceptions.
Milton won the starting job over Hooker in fall camp ahead of the 2021 season, only to injure his ankle in a September home loss to Pittsburgh. The door was opened for Hooker, who took over the starting job and never looked back.
Milton stayed patient, though, and stuck around at Tennessee. He waited his turn and now he’s doing everything he can to step into the void left by Hooker.
“There’s no kind of laid back, I don’t have another old guy next to me or something like that,” Halzle said. “He’s competitive, he’s dialed in every single day when he takes the field.”
What Milton does have next to him is a five-star freshman teammates in quarterback Nico Iamaleava. All Iamaleava did was headline Tennessee’s 2023 recruiting class as the No. 1 overall player in the On3 rankings.
“He’s been really good,” Halzle said of Iamaleava. “He’s mature beyond his years – he doesn’t act like a freshman. But with that said, the first time you take the field, no matter how prepared, you are going from high school to college. It’s fast, there’s a lot more on you. We put as much on the quarterback as anybody in the country, if not more. It’s a lot.
Top 10
- 1New
Way-Too-Early Top 25
Can Arch lead Texas to top?
- 2Hot
AP Poll Projection
Predicting the Top 25
- 3
Riley Leonard
Explaining why Notre Dame was the pick
- 4
Johnny Manziel
Predicting National Championship winner
- 5
Ryan Day redemption
Paul Finebaum sets stage for Ohio State
Get the On3 Top 10 to your inbox every morning
By clicking "Subscribe to Newsletter", I agree to On3's Privacy Notice, Terms, and use of my personal information described therein.
“He’s handling it well with a great attitude. He stays positive and he competes at a really high level. He just lets his athleticism take over too which is fun to watch. So he’s been great, but it is hard. People forget how hard it is to come in and play as a true freshman at any level of college football. It’s just a different area.”
Joe Milton III ‘rallying all the troops around us’ during spring practice
Milton is helping Iamaleava with the transition as much as anyone. The veteran’s advice to the freshman: Go make mistakes.
“At the end of the day, it’s football,” Milton said. “Nico comes to me every night, right after meetings he asks me questions about the (play) script. I’m willing to help anyway I can. That’s just me personally.
“For any freshman in the country, it doesn’t have to be just for Tennessee, go make a mistake. You never know what’s going to happen. Keep being you. It’s not like high school, things are sped up, but at the same time, it’s football. Go learn what you need to learn and do what you need to do.”
Iamaleava described his relationship with Milton as that of a big brother. And not only that, a leader for the entire team.
“Really just rallying all the troops around us,” Iamaleava said, “getting everybody to buy into what he’s trying to build and what the team’s trying to build. Joe has been great for me and a great big brother to me.”
