The expectations are high for Tennessee's quarterbacks room.
The Vols return Joe Milton III, who is entering his third years in the program after starting the last two games of the 2022 season and signed one of the top quarterbacks in the 2023 class in consensus five-star Nico Iamaleava.
Given the amount of success Hendon Hooker had the last two seasons playing for Josh Heupel before being taken by the Detroit Lions in the third round of the NFL Draft, there isn't expected to be too much of a drop off at the position with Milton back.
Sporting News seems to think so.
The national media outlet selected Milton as the third best signal caller in the SEC in 2023 on Tuesday behind Jayden Daniels at LSU and Arkansas' K.J. Jefferson.
After transferring from Michigan, where spent three seasons, Milton started the first two games of the 2021 season at Tennessee but was unseated by Hooker. He played in a backup role until Hooker suffered a season-ending ACL tear against South Carolina late last season.
Milton led the Vols to a 56-0 thumping of Vanderbilt the following week and turned in an impressive performance against Clemson in the Orange Bowl, finishing 19-of-28 passing for 251 yards and three touchdowns in a 31-14 win.
On the season, Milton totaled 971 yards, 10 touchdowns and completed 64.6% of his passes.
Milton's 6-foot-5, 245-pound frame and strong arm has made him a potential high pick in the 2024 NFL Draft and he has the ability to lead the Tennessee offense to another productive season as the unquestioned starter.
"I think some of (Milton's growth) starts off the field and being really sure in who he is and what he's about, defining and growing his work habits," Heupel said following Tennessee's spring game last month. "That's allowed him to be more consistent and grow inside of what we're doing. If you talk about just the football player, I think it starts with the understanding of what we're doing, understanding of what we're doing, being consistent with his reads. Then pair that with growth fundamentally, getting his feet in the ground, being in a consistent, positive position to be able to deliver a football from the ground up.
"You pair those things together and he's able to grow. You saw some of that in the way that he played at the end of last year and he's had a really good spring."
Milton's journey is certainly unique in the current college football landscape.
He had the tools and experience to find playing time elsewhere after losing the starting job but instead stayed at Tennessee to learn under Hooker. That decision has seemingly paid off.
"Nothing has pretty much changed," Milton said. "I kind of go every day 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 called, just kept repping it, kept getting better and pushing Hendon. Now, I get more reps and I get to talk to Nico and the rest of the quarterback room, Gaston (Moore) and Navy (Shuler). I get more reps in the mental aspect of it just because I have to explain it to someone else. It also prepped you to be more prepared when those situations come."
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