REPORT: Joe Milton has seen tons of growth since leaving Michigan

Back in 2020, Michigan football fans were subjected to one of the worst seasons in program history. Perhaps nothing about the COVID-19 season was more disappointing than the performance of former quarterback Joe Milton, who had been hyped up as “the next Cam Newton” and carried massive expectations heading into the season. After Michigan’s 2020 campaign, Milton hit the transfer portal and has since found a new home with Tennessee. According to new reports, the Wolverines’ former QB1 has seen exponential growth since his days in Ann Arbor.

Joe Milton has developed a lot since his time with Michigan football, per reports

Michigan football opened the 2020 season with a massive 49-24 victory on the road against a top 20 Minnesota team. While this initial performance had Michigan fans excited for the coming year, it was the only bright spot of that season for the Maize and Blue, who lost four of their final five games, with the lone win coming in triple overtime against Rutgers.

After losing the starting job to Cade McNamara, who then led Michigan football to a Big Ten title in 2021, Joe Milton hit the transfer portal and wound up in the SEC with the Tennessee Volunteers. Now, heading into his 6th year of college football, Milton is poised to earn the starting nod — according to reports, he is vastly different from the quarterback who took the field for the Wolverines three years ago.

Tennessee is expecting a lot from Milton this fall

“I think one of the great stories of college football and the era of the transfer portal is his trust and ability to recognize areas that he can continue to grow in and trust the people around him that we have his best interest at heart,” Heupel said during SEC Media Days, earlier this week. “Understand that within our scheme he’s gonna have an opportunity to do everything that he wants to, which is be one of the best players inside of college football.

“And through that process over the last 18 to 24 months, he’s continued to grow and his comfort of who he is, what he’s about, how he wants to approach and attack every single day, how he wants to grow as a football player,” he continued. “Meaning fundamentally at the quarterback position along with understanding offensive and defensive schemes so that he can put his eyes in the right spot, get his body in the right spot to be consistently accurate with the football.

“And then how he wants to impact his teammates, nobody inside of our program was surprised by the success that he had when he got his opportunity last year as a starter,” Heupel said. “He played extremely well when he got into football games throughout the season, but his preparation, his urgency, how he practiced, all those things led himself to everybody inside of our building believing that he was going to play at that type of level.

“… He’s got a lot more out there, he’s had a great offseason. For 15 practices in spring ball, did a great job of working, navigating the pocket, being extremely accurate with the football. I’m really excited to get back on the grass with him during the course of training camp,” Heupel said. “Believe he’s poised to have a great 2023 season.”

While Joe Milton may not be a Wolverine anymore, many Michigan football fans are still hopeful that he finds success with his new team and beyond in the years to come.

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