There is no quarterback controversy at Tennessee.

On Tuesday, Vols offensive coordinator Joey Halzle shut down any notion that the team would be in better hands with five-star freshman Nico Iamaleava at the helm of the offense.

The reasoning for this is he believes current starter Joe Milton III is operating the offense at a high level. Despite short comings on the offensive side of the ball, Halzle says the team's issues are in the entire unit's operation of the offense.

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This statement comes just days after the Vols were penalized 10 times with multiple coming on the offensive side in the form of pre-snap whistles.

However, in Tennessee's offense, it isn't fully on the quarterback to line up his teammates. While he can help, individual players are expected to get the call from the sideline and are responsible for getting themselves lined up in the correct position.

"That's the thing with getting guys lined, the way we play, you got to get yourself lined up," said Halzle. "You got to play fast. We're not breaking the huddle and he's not telling everybody where to go. You got to see a signal, get your cleats in the ground. As the quarterback position, though, it is what it is, right? When that's not operating at a high level, we have to take it upon ourselves to make it operate at a high level and whatever that is in that moment."

This is an area that Halzle believes Milton did a good job at. When things got chaotic, Halzle said he was the calm that recentered the team.

With his play and the offense not operating at a level to keep up with Florida's first half scoring, he was willing to make adjustments and move on to the next drive

"Joe was really good in his decision-making," said Halzle. "His calmness on the sidelines. He was the calm within the storm out there. Talking to him on the headset, man, he was after every single drive like, 'Alright, cool. Let's move on. What do we got coming next?' So the guy's really even keeled. His decision-making is really good. He was accurate with the football. Like the guy played a good game. Was happy with that.

"Obviously, we can always be better. We can be pushing for our communication for how we all get on the same page in an environment like that and it's harder to hear. It's not the friendly confine. So, that's where we can keep pushing to grow. But, his overall game management was very good and awesome."

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This isn't to say Milton was perfect, though.

While the quarterback has been far from bad, it's clear he needs to take a step for Tennessee to reach the goals it wants to accomplish this season.

The biggest mistake during the loss to the Gators was his first interception as the Vols' signal caller. While protection broke down, he made the wrong decision and a hit caused his pass to flutter into the hands of a defensive back.

“He did some really good things the other night," said head coach Josh Heupel on Monday. "The pick, we can’t just throw it up. Would like to have that one back. We’ve got to be better in protection, too, in that situation. The decision-making, where he’s going with the football, I said it before the game, I’ll say it after the game, too, he was in the right spots. Accuracy, wide receivers being exact in their routes. All those things got to continue to improve for us to be as efficient as we need to be.”

Whether Milton makes a great play to propel the offense down the field or he has an error that hinders the team's progression, one thing is clear. His team has his back.

This was on display in the loss. The team feeds off of Milton's confidence and needs him as figure of reliance.

"Joe, he didn't blink," said Jabari Small. "Obviously, things weren't going our way but just the swagger he had. I told him today, I don't think I've played with a player with more swag or confidence. For him to just stay the same person through thick and through thin, through adversity, that's all you can ask for. I think he did a great job of Saturday of leading us. Obviously, we didn't get the outcome we wanted but he's doing his job."

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