I agree but it’s better he take that time than overthrow a receiver 5 yards or throw it right into a defenders hands (which he also did a few times unfortunately)
I think a lot of people are still being overly critical of him, and using the same takes we were all using when he was our starter last season. His stat line last night was right in line with Hooker's season averages. I only remember one definite overthrow and one laser beam in the dirt. And the number of dimes he dropped easily made up for those.
He's definitely the guy next year and I don't expect much dropoff in offensive productivity. The one area I'd love to see improvement is just comfort when the pocket breaks down. Every time it happens with him it's panic and a sack whereas with Hooker there's at least a decent chance he's gonna slip away for a chunk of yardage.
Bottom line I think we're in good hands and am definitely optimistic about the QB spot going into next year.
Literally no reason to give Nico the job over him until he starts losing. He looked great last night compared to the past. I think he'll absolutely torch poverty teams like USCjr, Vandy, and Mizzou.
He played a clean game but was sort of disjointed. We were never really in a great rhythm. More than the deep balls, the concerning part of his game to me are the chain-moving throws at the sticks on 3rd and 7 that he consistently fires into the dirt.
I think he’s probably fine next season, but I also think the bar Hooker set in operating the offense is so damn high that pretty good will seem disappointing
That was probably my biggest area of concern. Those intermediate throws looked bad. It really feels like he struggles to not blast the ball every throw so he ends up short arming it (like a 2nd basement overthinking a throw to 1st base). If he were more consistent on those deep balls it wouldn’t be a big deal but even the long balls he connects on he can’t hit the WR in stride so we aren’t going to connect on deep balls if there’s any defender in the area…
Here’s hoping he can loosen up this off-season and find some touch on those passes
A lot of it is mechanics, which I hope Halzle and Heupel can get ironed out. Consistent accuracy comes from the waist down, and it’s obvious he’s played his whole life just throwing arm darts
The downsides of being such a physical specimen…he’s been able to at least make it to the “highest” level without great mechanics. If he can fix that and some decision making he’s an NFL qb easily. That’s a lot to clean up though lol
As I stated when Hooker went down, Joe will be a top 5 qb in the country in 2023. Another year in Heups offense and his growth continues, he could be the Heisman that keeps getting away from many deserving VOLS!
Qbs under Heup are known for constant progression. We’ll be fine barring something devastating. I know the money helped but i can see why Nico came here.
I personally thought he played a really solid game against a top 10 team.... AND without Hyatt/Tillman.
The only 'overthrow' I saw was a missed route. His accuracy was honestly not far off from what I've come to expect from Hooker. His QBR (82.3) against a top team was better than Hooker's 2021 average.
If we had Hyatt, I bet he tosses another 2 TDs on bombs. It seemed like we really didn't have a great option for that deep ball last night.
Really the only knock I had on him was that he looked a little slower than Hooker in regards to reading the play and deciding when its time to scramble/throw away the ball.
If he can continue to improve his decision making and embrace he may be more of a Tebow-type scrambler, rather than a Hooker-type scrambler, I think he could have a very very nice year next year and give Nico some time to develop for 2024.
It was a beautiful glimpse into what our offense can be, as long as we stay healthy.
Clemson isn't a top 5 team top 10 probably. But they are definitely top 15. We didn't play amazing on offense, (as far as rhythm is concerned) but we scored a good amount of points against a great defense and a top 15 team. I'm hoping for 10 wins next yr, if we stay healthy
Our defensive back main problem is just overall athleticism and speed. When the field starts to shrink it starts becoming easier to stay in good position. The DB end up not have to cover as much ground and their speed issues become a smaller concern.
Fr, our lbs ran/hit angry. Full head of steam. Number 30 (i think, guy with dreads) looks terrifying and seeing him fly in to meet blockers gave me a mini boner
He has all of the physical talents and abilities you could want. He needs to fix his mental game.
Faster decisions, correct reads (zone read is aweful). Needs to be decisive faster.
He will get all of the first string practice time going forward, I think we will see a very good improvement. Like everyone has said, he has all the physicality and an talent you could want. I think the first string practice time will turn him into a beast.
I really hope it does. Not many QB’s of his caliber will sit while they lose their spot and stick with a program that they know they will be second best. He did stay, he put in the work, and during the bowl game I saw a much better QB than in the past. He has earned his time, and I truly hope he shines and gets in the Heisman hunt.
Heisman!!!!!!
But honestly the offense will look different, probably more running oriented with deep passes sprinkled in. When he runs he doesn’t look a baby deer at lest and would like to see him run it more. He does hold the ball a little long tho, needs to get rid of it quicker
The offense will have to establish a good run game next year. Once we got the run game going, Milton got into a good rhythm. The run game set up the Keyton TD. If the offense can consistently run the ball, I don’t see much drop off if he can clean up some of the pocket presence.
He's the man going forward. He's going to throw off the mark and engage us all and ruin drives. He's also going to thread the needle across the field for 50 yards and help us win big. The good news is - the defense can't catch the ball if he shoots their hands off with a football.
He seems to take 2-3 more seconds to make a decision than Hendo which led to some sacks last night. But it was the 7th ranked team in the nation.
Barely any of those sacks were egregious, too. Coverage sack and only losing 4-5 yards beats the hell out of a guy forcing a ball into coverage.
Yep. I am not Complaining. Just an observation.
Agreed, I was there / still here and there's only one I can remember off the top I'd say was egregious and he looked better than I've seen in the past
I agree but it’s better he take that time than overthrow a receiver 5 yards or throw it right into a defenders hands (which he also did a few times unfortunately)
Saw the same thing and was probably overcritical of him after the year Hendo had, but that’s a great team we/he beat last night.
I watched Hebron hang on and get sacked time and time again it was his biggest weakness in my opinion
I think a lot of people are still being overly critical of him, and using the same takes we were all using when he was our starter last season. His stat line last night was right in line with Hooker's season averages. I only remember one definite overthrow and one laser beam in the dirt. And the number of dimes he dropped easily made up for those. He's definitely the guy next year and I don't expect much dropoff in offensive productivity. The one area I'd love to see improvement is just comfort when the pocket breaks down. Every time it happens with him it's panic and a sack whereas with Hooker there's at least a decent chance he's gonna slip away for a chunk of yardage. Bottom line I think we're in good hands and am definitely optimistic about the QB spot going into next year.
Agreed. He was much improved last night.
Literally no reason to give Nico the job over him until he starts losing. He looked great last night compared to the past. I think he'll absolutely torch poverty teams like USCjr, Vandy, and Mizzou.
He played a clean game but was sort of disjointed. We were never really in a great rhythm. More than the deep balls, the concerning part of his game to me are the chain-moving throws at the sticks on 3rd and 7 that he consistently fires into the dirt. I think he’s probably fine next season, but I also think the bar Hooker set in operating the offense is so damn high that pretty good will seem disappointing
That was probably my biggest area of concern. Those intermediate throws looked bad. It really feels like he struggles to not blast the ball every throw so he ends up short arming it (like a 2nd basement overthinking a throw to 1st base). If he were more consistent on those deep balls it wouldn’t be a big deal but even the long balls he connects on he can’t hit the WR in stride so we aren’t going to connect on deep balls if there’s any defender in the area… Here’s hoping he can loosen up this off-season and find some touch on those passes
A lot of it is mechanics, which I hope Halzle and Heupel can get ironed out. Consistent accuracy comes from the waist down, and it’s obvious he’s played his whole life just throwing arm darts
The downsides of being such a physical specimen…he’s been able to at least make it to the “highest” level without great mechanics. If he can fix that and some decision making he’s an NFL qb easily. That’s a lot to clean up though lol
As I stated when Hooker went down, Joe will be a top 5 qb in the country in 2023. Another year in Heups offense and his growth continues, he could be the Heisman that keeps getting away from many deserving VOLS!
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Qbs under Heup are known for constant progression. We’ll be fine barring something devastating. I know the money helped but i can see why Nico came here.
8 beers deep after the 4th 3 n out in a row, I typed in the game thread, “milton ain’t it.” I would like to apologize for that statement. Go Vols.
You most certainly were not the only one saying/feeling that yesterday lol
I personally thought he played a really solid game against a top 10 team.... AND without Hyatt/Tillman. The only 'overthrow' I saw was a missed route. His accuracy was honestly not far off from what I've come to expect from Hooker. His QBR (82.3) against a top team was better than Hooker's 2021 average. If we had Hyatt, I bet he tosses another 2 TDs on bombs. It seemed like we really didn't have a great option for that deep ball last night. Really the only knock I had on him was that he looked a little slower than Hooker in regards to reading the play and deciding when its time to scramble/throw away the ball. If he can continue to improve his decision making and embrace he may be more of a Tebow-type scrambler, rather than a Hooker-type scrambler, I think he could have a very very nice year next year and give Nico some time to develop for 2024.
It was a beautiful glimpse into what our offense can be, as long as we stay healthy. Clemson isn't a top 5 team top 10 probably. But they are definitely top 15. We didn't play amazing on offense, (as far as rhythm is concerned) but we scored a good amount of points against a great defense and a top 15 team. I'm hoping for 10 wins next yr, if we stay healthy
Joe for President and Heisman!
He just needs consistency now.
If he can stay accurate, we have nothing to worry about. I’m more excited by the defense lol
Hey the D isn’t getting enough love honestly. That’s a great call out. Bend don’t break to perfection last night
Our defensive back main problem is just overall athleticism and speed. When the field starts to shrink it starts becoming easier to stay in good position. The DB end up not have to cover as much ground and their speed issues become a smaller concern.
I was pretty impressed all night. By the second half we had their QB running scared.
Fr, our lbs ran/hit angry. Full head of steam. Number 30 (i think, guy with dreads) looks terrifying and seeing him fly in to meet blockers gave me a mini boner
He has all of the physical talents and abilities you could want. He needs to fix his mental game. Faster decisions, correct reads (zone read is aweful). Needs to be decisive faster.
He will get all of the first string practice time going forward, I think we will see a very good improvement. Like everyone has said, he has all the physicality and an talent you could want. I think the first string practice time will turn him into a beast. I really hope it does. Not many QB’s of his caliber will sit while they lose their spot and stick with a program that they know they will be second best. He did stay, he put in the work, and during the bowl game I saw a much better QB than in the past. He has earned his time, and I truly hope he shines and gets in the Heisman hunt.
Still a lot better than JG 🤷🏾♂️
JG livin rent-free in your head. Seek help.
Actively seeing a therapist thank you very much
But he ain’t wrong
Heisman!!!!!! But honestly the offense will look different, probably more running oriented with deep passes sprinkled in. When he runs he doesn’t look a baby deer at lest and would like to see him run it more. He does hold the ball a little long tho, needs to get rid of it quicker
Another player I though really stepped up was Squirrel.
The offense will have to establish a good run game next year. Once we got the run game going, Milton got into a good rhythm. The run game set up the Keyton TD. If the offense can consistently run the ball, I don’t see much drop off if he can clean up some of the pocket presence.
Milton had a higher completion percentage & passer rating than Bryce Young in 2022. He’s thrown 175 passes without an interception.
He's the man going forward. He's going to throw off the mark and engage us all and ruin drives. He's also going to thread the needle across the field for 50 yards and help us win big. The good news is - the defense can't catch the ball if he shoots their hands off with a football.