One play from college shows why Patriots fans should be fired up about Tennessee QB Joe Milton

The narrative about former Tennessee Vols quarterback Joe Milton, a sixth round selection by the New England Patriots in the 2024 NFL Draft, is well-known by now. 

Milton, who started his college career at Michigan before transferring to Tennessee, has elite physical abilities. The Florida native has possibly the strongest arm of any quarterback in the NFL. Milton also has elite size and speed -- essentially all of the traits that make quarterback coaches salivate. 

The one issue with Milton is his accuracy/consistency, something that's been overblown at times. 

Milton can miss from time to time, but he completed 63 percent of his passes at Tennessee, which suggests that the accuracy narrative isn't exactly....accurate. 

Still, it's clear that the former Vol has yet to "put it all together", but that's due in part to the fact that he's had some bad luck. Ill-timed injuries combined with transferring, led to Milton starting only 18 games during his college career, something that Vols offensive coordinator Joey Halzle recently pointed out to ESPN. 

"To me, it's less about the age and more about how many times have you stood back there behind center," said Halzle. "I think one of the main things for the fan base to know he's still a project and very, very new to full-time starting at the position, so the ceiling for this guy is very high."

The high ceiling that Halzle referenced was evident during Tennessee's road win against Kentucky last season. 

On one particular play, Milton, facing a second-and-19 from his own 25 yard line, was quickly flushed from the pocket due to a missed block by Tennessee's right guard. Milton escaped to his left and threw across his body, while on the move, through a narrow window, hitting wide receiver Dont'e Thornton for a big gain.