Joe Milton will start at quarterback in Tennessee football opener against Bowling Green
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Joe Milton, a Michigan transfer, will start at quarterback for Tennessee football in the season opener against Bowling Green.
Coach Josh Heupel announced his choice on Monday, following a preseason competition between Milton, Virginia Tech transfer Hendon Hooker and sophomore Harrison Bailey. He did not name a backup.
Heupel and Milton will debut for the Volunteers together at Neyland Stadium on Thursday.
"Joe has had an opportunity to take a bunch of the reps with the (first-team offense) as of late and has continued to develop," Heupel said. "But I believe in the other two guys, as well."
Heupel has ascended as a coach by tutoring quarterbacks and creating an explosive offense, most recently at Central Florida. He coached Heisman Trophy winning quarterbacks Jason White and Sam Bradford and finished runner-up for the award himself as an Oklahoma quarterback.
Heupel secured Milton’s transfer to Tennessee in April, giving the quarterback a second chance to start for a Power Five program.
Milton, a 6-foot-5, 244-pounder, has a strong arm, big body and three seasons of eligibility remaining, including a COVID-19 exempt year.
At Michigan, he played 14 games with five starts in his career, passing for 1,194 yards, five TDs and six interceptions. He also rushed for 156 yards and three TDs.
"I felt like Joe (with) his grasp of our offense in a short amount of time, the growth in the middle portion of training camp, his acceleration in what we're doing, some physical attributes (and) decision making led us to put the ball in his hands here in this first ball game," Heupel said.
Tennessee is a heavy favorite against Bowling Green, so multiple quarterbacks could play in a blowout.
Hooker has two years of eligibility remaining after transferring to Tennessee in January before coach Jeremy Pruitt was fired. He played 25 games with 15 starts in his career at Virginia Tech.
Bailey is the only scholarship quarterback remaining from last season. He played in six games with three starts as a freshman.
"Both of them handled (the news of Milton starting) in a real positive way," Heupel said. "I know that they know that we believe in them. And I think that's a big part of being able to handle that information.
"They've continued to get opportunities to grow in practice, and they will. We believe in who they are and what they do and their future here."
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee names Joe Milton starting quarterback for opener
