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- š Hype bigger than Joe Milton's arm
š Hype bigger than Joe Milton's arm
Will Tennessee's QB live up to it?
Hello. This is the Josh and Swain Newsletter, a quick roundup of the weekās top stories and topics involving Tennessee and the sports world.
Hereās what we have for you today:
An impressive story for both Josh Heupel AND Joe Milton
Big expectations for Tennessee? Bring āem on!
Whatās next for Tennessee and its NCAA case?
How Tennesseeās recruiting has taken off in two years
SEE HOW FAR JOE CAN THROW
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The hype around Tennessee quarterback Joe Milton III is starting to take off.
A recent newsletter mentioned ESPN analyst Greg McElroy had called Milton a darkhorse Heisman Trophy candidate.
McElroy isnāt the only football evaluator outside Knoxville intrigued by Milton.
Aaron Murray, a former Georgia quarterback and now ESPN/Sirius XM analyst, called Milton the most talented quarterback in the country this week.
āHe has the best arm. He is extremely athletic. The dude can dunk a basketball like itās nothing. Iām watching pregame last year ā¦. and heās jumping up, catching one-handers in the back of the end zone, dunking it over the damn goalposts. Heās a great athlete and a gigantic human being and can throw the ball 80-plus yards.ā
Murray noted that having the most talent doesnāt guarantee Milton will be the best quarterback. Still, Murray brought up Miltonās All-American potential this season.
So the college football world has taken notice.
But thatās not it.
ESPN/SEC Network Cole Cubelic joined Josh and Swain this week and shared a cool story from Tennesseeās recent Pro Day.
A schoolās Pro Day offers NFL teams the chance to watch and evaluate draft prospects in a more private setting.
New rules allow underclassmen to work out, too. And NFL teams wanted to see Milton ā who will enter next yearās draft ā throw at UTās Pro Day.
Cubelic told us that when word traveled that Milton might throw, more NFL personnel planned on attending.
From Cubelic:
āApparently once the hype and the momentum got going, (Heupel) actually shut Joe down at the Pro Day and said, āListen, this is getting to the point that this is going to take away from the other guys and this is those guysā opportunity to go make a career out of football and to go play professionally and for some of them maybe to live out their dreams.
And I donāt want to hurt that; I donāt want the attention to be taken away from somebody who might have that opportunity.āā
Heupel wasnāt trying to restrict Milton; he was trying to help the other players who are in this yearās draft.
Thatās why Cole shared the story: to show the human side of Heupel looking out for his players.
The story also provides insight into the excitement around Milton.
Heās a huge quarterback with a monster arm.
And now with a better understanding of Tennesseeās offense and his position, Milton might be ready to unleash all that potential.
Heupel knows what Milton is capable of doing on the field. And Milton looks ready to show it.
Everyone else is eager to see it.
Check out our full conversation with Cole Cubelic, who offered great insight about Tennesseeās offense entering the 2023 season. ā¬ļøā¬ļø
BRING ON THE NOISE
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Speaking of Heupel, his offense and the teamās success in 2022 have changed the perception of the program.
And that has altered expectations for Tennessee moving forward.
Fine by Heupel.
Speaking to the media at Wednesdayās Big Orange Caravan stop in Nashville, Heupel acknowledged the growing expectations for the Vols.
āThe expectations in the building are what matter,ā Heupel said. āWe want the noise on the outside ā the high expectations (and) belief in what weāre doing.ā
Heupel is not afraid of big expectations. He has them, too.
Heupel was the starting quarterback on Oklahomaās 2000 national championship team. He knows about storied programs with big expectations.
Heupelās confidence and experience helped his team prepare for wins against teams like Florida and Alabama last season.
Those games carried a lot of hype. Tennesseeās coach was ready for it.
And Heupel knows what follows that kind of success: the desire for more success. Heupel:
āThe work habits are what predicate where weāre going to finish up. Youāve got to invest in it every single day. The success that weāve had in building a program is because of the investment of our players and coaches alike. The investment this season has to continue to sharpen and be greater.
I love what weāve done since we got back in January. Weāre essentially at the halfway point of our offseason before we get to kickoff (on Sept. 2). Weāve got a lot of work to do. I love what weāve done; thereās a lot of work ahead of us, though.ā
That work happens now.
Tennesseeās strength program has developed players and found consistency under coach Kurt Schmidt (who has a great title: Director of Competition Development).
Weāll see what the squad looks like when they return to the field in August. Let the Fall Camp Countdown begin.
SPORTS NUGGETS
š Did you see where ESPNās Power Index ranked Tennessee for the 2023 season? (Iām more of an SP+ guy for those keeping analytics score.)
š Tennesseeās NCAA infractions hearing ended a day early. Is that a good thing or a bad thing for Tennessee/Jeremy Pruitt?
š NFL Mock Draft of the week: Check out which team Peter Schrager predicted will take Hendon Hooker. (Only six more days until the draft!)
ā¾ Tennessee is 5-10 in SEC play and needs a series win vs No. 4 ranked Vanderbilt. Hereās weekend info for the big series.
š The first week of the NBA playoffs has been a hit. Hereās a rundown of the seriesā results and storylines.
ā½ One Knox Sporting Club returns home for a Friday night game. Hereās the team schedule. (Heads up: weāre giving away One Knox tickets all season long on Josh and Swain.)
š§ College football/draft analyst Michael Felder was great on the show talking about Tennessee players in the draft. Listen below. ā¬ļø
STICK TO SPORTS!
Did you know Netflix still delivers physical DVDs?
Do you even have a DVD player?
Well, after delivering more than five billion DVDs, Netflix announced it will ship out its final red envelope in September.
The streaming world continues to take over.
Itās up to Redbox to carry the DVD rental weight now.
On September 29th, 2023, we will send out the last red envelope. It has been a true pleasure and honor to deliver movie nights to our wonderful members for 25 years. Thank you for being part of this incredible journey, including this final season of red envelopes.
ā DVD Netflix (@dvdnetflix)
7:30 PM ā¢ Apr 18, 2023
ONE LAST BYTE OUT THE DOOR
The other item of interest for Heupel and Tennessee: recruiting.
It never actually stops, but thereās a lot to focus on for the Volsā staff.
Tennessee landed a commitment from safety Edrees Farooq from Baltimore, Md., last weekend and continues to go after some of the nationās top prospects.
That includes five-star wide receivers Mike Matthews and Ryan Wingo, according to Volquestās Austin Price.
āI believe Tennessee continues to have momentum with Ryan Wingo. Even with the latest kind of crystal balls and projections to Georgia, I still think Tennessee has momentum there.ā
Check out our conversation with Austin Price, who gave out more details on Tennesseeās top targets and explained how the Volsā recruiting has taken off the last two years. ā¬ļøā¬ļø
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Thank you for reading.
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