Florida head coach Billy Napier is plenty familiar with the Tennessee football program.
The second-year head coach in Gainesville was originally born in Cookeville, Tennessee and has several die-hard Volunteer family members on his Dad’s side of the family.
Napier is also familiar with Tennessee after experiencing a close loss to quarterback Hendon Hooker and the Vols last season in Neyland Stadium. Tennessee defeated Florida by a score of 38-33 with both teams racking up nearly 600 yards of total offense each.
Billy Napier spoke very highly of Tennessee’s past and present during his Monday afternoon press conference to kick off the week in Gainesville. In particular, Napier spoke highly of starting quarterback Joe Milton III.
“The quarterback is a freak of nature,” Napier said of Joe Milton via On3 GatorsOnline. “I mean, he’s very, very talented. Not only can throw it but can run it.”
Additionally, Napier even followed up on a trait that he believes Milton is better at in comparison to Hendon Hooker.
“I do think [Milton’s] ability to rush the ball may be even more effective and more willing it than the last guy,” Napier continued on to say.
While Napier’s statement on Milton is very complimentary, the Florida head coach saw a masterclass from Hendon Hooker on the ground in Knoxville last season. In addition to the 349 yards he had through the air, Hooker also added 112 yards and one touchdown on the ground in the win. Tennessee’s two running backs, Jabari Small and Jaylen Wright, combined for 115 in the game.
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Through two games this season, Milton has 40 rushing yards on 12 carries with three touchdowns on the ground. Thirty-three of his 40 total yards came during the season opener against Virginia.
Milton has been effective at taking off and scrambling from the pocket during these two games but head coach Josh Heupel and offensive coordinator Joey Halzle have yet to really start dialing up the designed quarterback runs. The Vols’ opponents, Virginia and Austin Peay, could be a reason as to why.
Hooker had very nimble speed to his running style, almost like a running back with the finesse that he could use against either defensive linemen or defensive backs. Milton, on the other hand, has a more powerful running style that is ultra-effective in the red zone. Two plays that indicate that this season are his stiff arm through a Virginia defender and his QB draw up the middle against Austin Peay.
We’ll see if Heupel and Halzle unleash Milton’s running game more this Saturday, but it does sound like the Gators’ defense will be respecting the Tennessee quarterback’s legs.
Florida will host No. 11 Tennessee on ESPN at 7:00 p.m. ET on ESPN this coming Saturday night in Gainesville, Florida.
THIS STIFF-ARM BY JOE MILTON III 😱 pic.twitter.com/GpERr4kWSh
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) September 2, 2023
Side note: This clip from ESPN has an astonishing 9.1 million views at the time of this publication. Just wanted to point out a massive number, that’s all.
