Vols' OC Joey Halzle: Joe Milton 'a completely different guy' entering 2023

Over the course of five seasons at both Michigan and Tennessee, Milton has completed 171 of his 296 passes, racked up 2,540 yards and totaled 17 touchdowns, while also rushing for 362 yards and five more scores. Now 23 years old, the graduate senior from Pahokee, Florida has played in 29 total games throughout his career.

While Milton has had his fair share of struggles as a Division I college football quarterback, he took a significant step forward last season while backing-up – and learning from – former Tennessee standout quarterback Hendon Hooker. After Hooker suffered a season-ending ACL tear in a loss at South Carolina on November 19, 2022, Milton became the Vols' starter and led them to a pair of wins – including an Orange Bowl victory over Clemson – to close out the 11-win campaign.

After throwing for 251 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions in the Orange Bowl, and then continuing to work on his game over the summer and now into fall camp, expectations are higher than ever for Milton entering the 2023 season.

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"He's a completely different guy – not just player," Tennessee offensive coordinator Joey Halzle said this week at the Vols' team media day. "His attention to detail is elite. He came back after that Clemson game and he was hungry to keep learning, to keep pushing forward. He didn't rest of his laurels and be like, 'Cool, I figured it out.' ... He pushed.

"I think he saw the success that he had, and he knows what his talent can do. And, now, his mentality is matching that – as far as how much he wants to learn, how much he's consuming the game at all times. It's fun to be a part of right now. It's a special mindset that kid has."

Heading into his sixth season of playing college football, Milton has learned quite a bit over the years – probably enough to be a coach one day if he chooses to do so.

Through all of the ups and downs, the quarterback has always remained humble. Because of his positive attitude, and the mentorship that Hooker offered him while the two were together on Rocky Top, Milton could arguably be one of the best quarterbacks in the nation this coming season.

Halzle certainly thinks so.

"For Joe, a lot of it is not just knowing what the pass routes were. ... He could've told you what all the pass routes were. That's not what it was about it," Halzle said. "Why are we calling things in certain situations? And if he's knowing the why we're doing things in certain situations, it helps him with, 'Where do I want to get with this ball? Where does my eyes start?' In the run game, he can tell you all the calls that the O-line is making now, which helps him. ... 'Well, if this is an RPO, am I reading this guy, am I reading that guy?'

"He has a huge understanding of that now. It's extremely detailed, which allows him to go play free. ... Just go let his talent takeover."

After learning a number of leadership lessons from Hooker, Milton has now taken on a mentorship role himself – serving as a 'big brother' figure to five-star Tennessee freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava.

It's a relationship that Halzle loves to see.

"They're already extremely close," Halzle said of Milton and Iamaleava. "I think Nico getting here in December, having those 15 bowl practices and then going to the bowl site – where he just got to be around the guys – it's like that big brother-little brother relationship with the two of them. ... You rarely see Joe without Nico. It's been great for him to kind of see the way a quarterback should operate on a day-to-day level.

"Joe's been a great mentor to him, and he's really helping bring along his development – on and off the field."

Tennessee will continue to go through fall camp practices leading up to its Saturday, September 2 season opener against Virginia at Nissan Stadium in Nashville.

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