Serious QB discussion

[VolMarine1371]

Why? Seriously, WHY?
Saving a year of eligibility? Kids don’t even stay their full eligibility. Or they transfer. What is he waiting for? Is Nico hurt? Is Nico a bust? Inquiring minds want to know!

Same reason he’s started Milton over Hooker. Hooker only got his chance because Milton got hurt. Milton started the 1st 2 games and then got hurt in the 2nd game against Pitt.

If my memory is correct we was all told that Hooker wasn’t ready and that it really wasn’t close between Milton and Hooker. But they was right, it wasn’t close, Hooker was better and the world seen it as soon as he entered the game.

 

[VolMarine1371]

Those QBs that we wanted to replace JG?
Bailey is a walk on at Louisville
Maurer is at Stephen F Austin
Shrout is playing for Butch at Ark State

JG did a year in the NFL.

Want to take bets on whether any of the others do?

My point wasn’t rather they play in NFL or not. We all seen the love fest that Pruitt had for JG and Heupel has that same love fest for Milton. Don’t forget that Heupel once started Milton over Hooker and said that Hooker just wasn’t ready. well we seen how that turned out as soon as Hooker entered the game.

 

[SayUWantAreVOLution]

My point wasn’t rather they play in NFL or not. We all seen the love fest that Pruitt had for JG and Heupel has that same love fest for Milton. Don’t forget that Heupel once started Milton over Hooker and said that Hooker just wasn’t ready. well we seen how that turned out as soon as Hooker entered the game.

My point is: they weren't better than JG.

So what was the option? Play guys that were worse?

 

[VolMarine1371]

My point is: they weren't better than JG.

So what was the option? Play guys that were worse?

HB never got a real shot here in a game.
BM was most definitely better, he just had health issues.

No one else got a chance in games like Nico or Moore isn’t getting a chance now. I do think Nico or Moore can throw for more than 100yds. Milton has thrown 4 interceptions last 4 games. The QB position is affecting the play calling and holding this team back on offense.

 

[SayUWantAreVOLution]

HB never got a real shot here in a game.
BM was most definitely better, he just had health issues.

No one else got a chance in games like Nico or Moore isn’t getting a chance now. I do think Nico or Moore can throw for more than 100yds. Milton has thrown 4 interceptions last 4 games. The QB position is affecting the play calling and holding this team back on offense.

Bailey couldn't make it at UNLV and ended WALKING ON Louisville. He isn't likely better than JG.

Maurer is the starting QB for a very mediocre FCS team going 3-3 currently in the Sunbelt? Conference. He's definitely not better than JG.

Shrout, as I recall, was injured.

The point is: JG was bad. Those guys were worse or unavailable. It wasn't a "blindness" by even an awful coach like Pruitt, the other guys actually weren't better.

If you think Heupel is bad, just say so. If you think he's in the Pruitt and Jones league of coaches, just say so.

 

[FlyFishnVol]

I really doubt there is anyone left who thinks Milton is the guy to get us any kind of championship. But, other than the very untimely INT he is a stabilizing force and when he does run can do damage with his legs. I guess my question is do we stick with his game management and just give up on the passing game realizing our WRs are not exactly world class either or do we go ahead and give Nico his chance? My honest opinion, while likely to be unpopular, is not to throw Nico into his first start at Tuscaloosa. Start Milton but have Nico ready if our passing game is as impotent as it was tonight. We could try the two QB thing too.

I am going to say, Nico will be ready if needed, but Joe is the QB, he is 5 and 1.

 

[VolMarine1371]

Bailey couldn't make it at UNLV and ended WALKING ON Louisville. He isn't likely better than JG.

Maurer is the starting QB for a very mediocre FCS team going 3-3 currently in the Sunbelt? Conference. He's definitely not better than JG.

Shrout, as I recall, was injured.

The point is: JG was bad. Those guys were worse or unavailable. It wasn't a "blindness" by even an awful coach like Pruitt, the other guys actually weren't better.

If you think Heupel is bad, just say so. If you think he's in the Pruitt and Jones league of coaches, just say so.

I will not say Heupel is bad. He is a hell of a coach and I’m glad he is here. But it still don’t mean we can’t complain about what we see. But I will say Heupel absolutely has a blind love for Milton. Heupel brought Milton in when he was hired. Hooker was already committed prior to Heupel arriving. And what we know now is that Hooker was head and shoulders above Milton and it wasn’t even close.

Heupel has been trying to start Milton for since 2021 when we had a better QB on the bench in Hooker. So this wouldn’t be the first time Heupel started Milton while claiming the one on the bench just isn’t ready. Just look at Hooker stats compared to Milton’s stats prior to UT and you will see Hooker has been better than Millton since day 1.

 

[VolMarine1371]

I am going to say, Nico will be ready if needed, but Joe is the QB, he is 5 and 1.

5-1 with numbers that are unbelievable.

VA- 21/30, 201yds, 2TD, 64.3 QBR-W
APSU- 21/33, 228yds, 2TD, 35.1 QBR-W
UF- 20/34, 287yds, 2TD, 1int 48.8QBR-L
UTSA- 18/31, 209yds, 2TD’s, 84.1 QBR-W
SC- 21/39, 239yds, 1TD, 2int 43.8 QBR -W
aTm-11/22,100yds, 1TD, 1int 63.1 QBR -W

#13 in SEC in yds per pass with 6.95
#10 in SEC in completion %

There’s a reason why Milton was benched at Michigan. Heupel is a great QB coach and yet he still hasn’t fixed Milton. It’s time to move on to either Nico or Gaston Moore. If Milton is gonna play pedestrian, at least be a good game manger and not turn the ball over, run out of bounds when you have a yard to get, or throw into triple coverage.

 

[FlyFishnVol]

5-1 with numbers that are unbelievable.

VA- 21/30, 201yds, 2TD, 64.3 QBR-W
APSU- 21/33, 228yds, 2TD, 35.1 QBR-W
UF- 20/34, 287yds, 2TD, 1int 48.8QBR-L
UTSA- 18/31, 209yds, 2TD’s, 84.1 QBR-W
SC- 21/39, 239yds, 1TD, 2int 43.8 QBR -W
aTm-11/22,100yds, 1TD, 1int 63.1 QBR -W

#13 in SEC in yds per pass with 6.95
#10 in SEC in completion %

There’s a reason why Milton was benched at Michigan. Heupel is a great QB coach and yet he still hasn’t fixed Milton. It’s time to move on to either Nico or Gaston Moore. If Milton is gonna play pedestrian, at least be a good game manger and not turn the ball over, run out of bounds when you have a yard to get, or throw into triple coverage.

So, if he had Hooker's numbers but 1 and 5 that is ok?

 

[SayUWantAreVOLution]

I will not say Heupel is bad. He is a hell of a coach and I’m glad he is here. But it still don’t mean we can’t complain about what we see. But I will say Heupel absolutely has a blind love for Milton. Heupel brought Milton in when he was hired. Hooker was already committed prior to Heupel arriving. And what we know now is that Hooker was head and shoulders above Milton and it wasn’t even close.

Heupel has been trying to start Milton for since 2021 when we had a better QB on the bench in Hooker. So this wouldn’t be the first time Heupel started Milton while claiming the one on the bench just isn’t ready. Just look at Hooker stats compared to Milton’s stats prior to UT and you will see Hooker has been better than Millton since day 1.

First, Hooker is better than Milton. That doesn't mean Nico and/or Moore are better.

Moore: There's no indication he's unhappy with his place even though he's been CLEARLY recruited over with Nico. Barring injury, Gaston Moore will never start and he knows it and he's apparently fine with that. There's not a peep about him entering the portal.

Nico: Also not a peep about him entering the portal, which is not uncommon if a 5* QB thinks they should be starting. Not a hint of a problem in the locker room from other players either about Joe starting. Nothing. No rumors of anything like that at all.

The team seems fine. Together. Other than the Mincey crap, we've been very drama free this year.

The only drama about the QB appears to be here, not with Nico, not with Gaston.......just here.

 

[Vol865]

I’m tired of hear the “bad OLine” ********. If this OLine was bad we wouldn’t be #4 in the country in rushing and #1 in the SEC in rushing. Our OLine man handled the best dline we will see this year against aTm.

How do they do in pass blocking? Granted most of what I'm referring to is before Mays was back but him being out affecting us that bad and Ollie still being a liability and starting shows we have zero depth.

 

[VolMarine1371]

First, Hooker is better than Milton. That doesn't mean Nico and/or Moore are better.

Moore: There's no indication he's unhappy with his place even though he's been CLEARLY recruited over with Nico. Barring injury, Gaston Moore will never start and he knows it and he's apparently fine with that. There's not a peep about him entering the portal.

Nico: Also not a peep about him entering the portal, which is not uncommon if a 5* QB thinks they should be starting. Not a hint of a problem in the locker room from other players either about Joe starting. Nothing. No rumors of anything like that at all.

The team seems fine. Together. Other than the Mincey crap, we've been very drama free this year.

The only drama about the QB appears to be here, not with Nico, not with Gaston.......just here.

Nico, Gaston and Milton have been great teammates. I am actually impressed with Milton that he stayed when he lost the starting job. Milton has been a great locker room guy the last couple years.

Most people are frustrated with Milton when he is near the bottom of the SEC in completion %, and yds per pass avg. And you’re right, we don’t know if Moore, or Nico could do better, but we had opportunities to find out but for some reason Heupel is refusing to play Nico or Moore.

UTSA game- up 31-0 at half time and Milton hurt his knee bad enough that he needed a brace to finish the game and it affected him. This would have been the game to give Nico meaningful game reps to see how he actually plays with the starts in case Milton does get hurt and can’t return. No matter if we scored another point, UTSA wasn’t coming back on our defense. Milton was on fire in the first half, but after he hurt his leg he only completed like 1 pass in the 3rd quarter. It was obvious his knee was bothering him with the way he was limping. Don’t understand why risk Milton health when ip 31-0?


Austin Peay game- we go up 30-13 with 8 minutes left in the game and yet Heupel doesn’t get Nico reps when the game was in hand. This is another opportunity missed to get him live reps. Also Milton has struggled this entire game and finished with a 38 QBR, so what would it had hurt to bring Nico in the last 8 minutes to see what he can do?

USCjr- up 41-20 with 4:09 left in the game. This would have been a good game to get Nico a few minutes experience under the lights at Neyland and elite atmosphere.

Heupel has already said that Nico is not getting red shirt m, that it hasn’t even been considered. So if we not worrying about redshirting him, then why not get him as many reps as possible when the game is in hand? What if Milton gets hurt and then can’t return? Now we have a freshman QB that has no experience taking SEC. I would think we would want a QB that has taken a few snaps if he’s forced into action.

Nico or Moore may not be better, but if we are able to win with the numbers Joe is putting up, then I don’t see us losing a game after it’s in hand with either one finishing out a game when up by 3+ scores.

 

[VolMarine1371]

So, if he had Hooker's numbers but 1 and 5 that is ok?

No. If he had Hookers numbers the Vols would be 6-0, and would have beat aTm by 3 TD’s.

 

[VolMarine1371]

How do they do in pass blocking? Granted most of what I'm referring to is before Mays was back but him being out affecting us that bad and Ollie still being a liability and starting shows we have zero depth.

Our OLine pass block pretty well also. There is only 2 QB’s that has been sacked less time than Milton in the SEC.

aTm- Weigman- 3
UGA- Beck- 5
UT- Milton- 8

Half those sacks have come because Milton is hanging onto the ball to long and slow with his reads and progressions. Even the announcers have talked about Milton not getting rid of the ball soon enough, and taking unnecessary hits and sacks.

 

[SayUWantAreVOLution]

Nico, Gaston and Milton have been great teammates. I am actually impressed with Milton that he stayed when he lost the starting job. Milton has been a great locker room guy the last couple years.

Most people are frustrated with Milton when he is near the bottom of the SEC in completion %, and yds per pass avg. And you’re right, we don’t know if Moore, or Nico could do better, but we had opportunities to find out but for some reason Heupel is refusing to play Nico or Moore.

UTSA game- up 31-0 at half time and Milton hurt his knee bad enough that he needed a brace to finish the game and it affected him. This would have been the game to give Nico meaningful game reps to see how he actually plays with the starts in case Milton does get hurt and can’t return. No matter if we scored another point, UTSA wasn’t coming back on our defense. Milton was on fire in the first half, but after he hurt his leg he only completed like 1 pass in the 3rd quarter. It was obvious his knee was bothering him with the way he was limping. Don’t understand why risk Milton health when ip 31-0?


Austin Peay game- we go up 30-13 with 8 minutes left in the game and yet Heupel doesn’t get Nico reps when the game was in hand. This is another opportunity missed to get him live reps. Also Milton has struggled this entire game and finished with a 38 QBR, so what would it had hurt to bring Nico in the last 8 minutes to see what he can do?

USCjr- up 41-20 with 4:09 left in the game. This would have been a good game to get Nico a few minutes experience under the lights at Neyland and elite atmosphere.

Heupel has already said that Nico is not getting red shirt m, that it hasn’t even been considered. So if we not worrying about redshirting him, then why not get him as many reps as possible when the game is in hand? What if Milton gets hurt and then can’t return? Now we have a freshman QB that has no experience taking SEC. I would think we would want a QB that has taken a few snaps if he’s forced into action.

Nico or Moore may not be better, but if we are able to win with the numbers Joe is putting up, then I don’t see us losing a game after it’s in hand with either one finishing out a game when up by 3+ scores.

Interesting that you'd previously say Heupel is a helluva coach and we're lucky to have him and then repeatedly give instances of second guessing his coaching.

I get it. Milton started badly and when Hooker came in, it really was lightning in a bottle. Even Hooker seemed amazed at his play. It was magical. So people think, it could be magical again if Heupel would just see.........

I'm in the Heupel CAN see camp and he was as amazed as anyone about Hooker's magical season. Magic happens. It rarely happens twice in a row.

You seem to be in the camp that Heupel is like Jones and Pruitt and tied to "his QB" and standing in the way of TN being better because he's "blind" to a better QB, even when I show Pruitt (a lousy coach) was most likely not blind to JG being bad, his options were worse.

Heupel is a damn good coach. He's done great coaching QBs for several years. He got a magical season from Hooker that he didn't expect. That doesn't negate his previous several years of being a dang good QB judge.

 

[Teezy]

Looking at the play calling, tells you what goes on during the week of practice. We had 2 weeks to prepare for this game, and it's telling how little changes from week to week. We are playing not to lose, and hoping the run game and defense can keep it close. It worked today, but it won't against Bama and the tougher teams left to play. The running game---we got some hoses that play hard on every run, but my God, mix it up from run the up the middle every play. And the defense won this game for us today hands down.

Whew. With all due respect, really bad take. I would argue our game planning was actually really good. But the coaches realized Milton was not having a good day at all, which he wasn’t, and even made some inexcusable mistakes along the process. At that point, as a coach you say our running game is working and our defense is playing out of their minds. Let’s just try to grit this win out. Also, while I understand your frustration with our passing game, wanting Tennessee to change their running game plan is downright silly. We just ran for 235 yards against one of the best running defenses in the COUNTRY. Tennessee doesn’t need to change a damn thing when it comes to running the ball.

 

[Vol865]

Our OLine pass block pretty well also. There is only 2 QB’s that has been sacked less time than Milton in the SEC.

aTm- Weigman- 3
UGA- Beck- 5
UT- Milton- 8

Half those sacks have come because Milton is hanging onto the ball to long and slow with his reads and progressions. Even the announcers have talked about Milton not getting rid of the ball soon enough, and taking unnecessary hits and sacks.

Sacks don't tell you how many times he's been pressured or forced off of his spot. Sometimes maybe Milton is holding it too long. Other times maybe the playcall requires it to stretch the field. I'm not saying Milton is even a good QB but when Karic and Ollie are in together it's a bad OL. Mays fixes a lot of it but we can't rely on 1 dude to hold the whole OL together. That's where depth comes in.

 

[orangemadam]

Peyton was not the first, and I believe not even the second choice.

Just say you don't believe Josh Heupel can't pick a QB if that's what you mean.

My point being that a freshman can succeed, especially if he is gifted, as Nico seems to be.
Nico would be able to excel, but coach has a loyalty first to seniority. I think that is obvious.

No way, however, do I believe Nico should start at Bama, but if that is the route coach
took, I believe Nico could hold his own.

 

[MurphyVol]

I'm not saying Nico should start, but coaches make the wrong personnel decisions all the time.

It took injuries for Dobbs and Hooker both to see the field and to become the best QBs we've had this side of Peyton Manning.

Same can be said for Kurt Warner and Tom Brady.

 

[OllVol]

You can forget it. If Nico hasn’t gotten a chance after all of this BS, it ain’t happening

We're 5 and 1.

 

[Volador]

I really doubt there is anyone left who thinks Milton is the guy to get us any kind of championship.

Joe Milton is 5-1 this season, 6-1 if you include the bowl game WIN over top ranked Clemson. I can live with that.

 

[Vol865]

I really doubt there is anyone left who thinks Milton is the guy to get us any kind of championship.

Joe Milton is 5-1 this season, 6-1 if you include the bowl game WIN over top ranked Clemson. I can live with that.

He's definitely been the catalyst behind our success this season...

 

[Smokymtnbullet]

I’d bench Ramel Keyton and Ollie Lane before anyone.

 

[whodeycin85]

For all wanting to replace Joe...how is Nico going to be better with poor pass blocking and wr getting 0 separation, no 2nd gears, drops and the smallet catch radius I have ever seen....

 

[Majors]

I’d bench Ramel Keyton and Ollie Lane before anyone.

^^^ needs to be mentioned more often.