re: Vols have jumped up big early on against Bama in the past two seasons

Well for starters Nico was the number two ranked player in the entire night while Milton was ranked 204-th best player.


1: Milton was a multiple year senior who couldn't get it done at his original school, Michigan despite having plenty of chances and experience.

2: Milton wasn't considered a prodigy by anyone. His 3 star 247 and low 4 star composite rating status will show you that as well. He never viewed as being anything to a sure thing due to his accuracy issues, but obviously had a tonne of potential.

He was the 15th ranked pro style QB in Trevor Lawrence 's class and was never really considered a true dual threat like Nico. Also, the guy was in college forever.

3: Pretty much every one in the nation wanted Nico coming out of highschool. Only Michigan, Florida and Boston College along with several tiny schools wanted him.

4: You don't spend 6 million dollars on a player unless you have vetted him thoroughly and are convinced he's as close to a sure thing as you can get. No one would have ever spent that kind of money on Milton.

5: Nico is an elite scrambler in addition to his passing abilities. Milton only has straight line speed and is very slow to read the field and react. He always hates physical contact. He doesn't have any dog in him whatsoever.

Here is Milton's and Nico's original 247 recruiting profiles below. You would think a kid with Milton's measurables would be a 5 star, but his football IQ and fundamentals as a QB were always lacking and never really improved. Heupel did a hell of a job making his stats look decent and getting him drafted .

Joe Milton 247 recruiting profile

And here is Nico's profile:

Nico - 247 sports profile