Tennessee QB Joe Milton has earned the respect of Nick Saban and Alabama

Former Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker was a third-round draft pick by the Detroit Lions this past year. He left Tennessee with a 15-7 record, 6,080 yards and 58 touchdowns (only five interceptions) under his belt in only two seasons.

Hooker was good for the Volunteers. Very good. 

The guy who replaced him — redshirt senior Joe Milton III — is just as good, though. That is, at least, according to the head coach who will be game-planning against him this week: Alabama legend Nick Saban.

“Well, I don’t see Joe a whole lot different than, you know what we played against in the past, when Hendon Hooker was there," Saban said in a recent news conference (h/t On3). "The guy can throw the ball, he’s accurate. He’s got a strong arm, can make plays down the field, which, you know, they take a lot of vertical shots and he certainly has the capability of making those plays. But he’s also athletic enough to extend plays in the pocket and run if necessary.”

Saban is certainly gassing his opponent up a bit because it's worth noting that Milton is coming off a rough game. Despite leading Tennessee to a 20-13 win over Texas A&M this past weekend, he completed just 11-of-22 passes for 100 yards, one touchdown and one pick.

With that said, Saban is right in his evaluation. Like Hooker before him, Milton is a dual threat who could be extremely dangerous against Alabama. On the season, he's thrown for 1,264 yards and 10 touchdowns (four interceptions) while rushing 32 times for 173 yards and four touchdowns on the ground.   

“You can’t get pushed by the quarterback," Saban said, explaining how his team must defend Milton. "You got to keep the guy in front of you, got to have discipline in pass rush lanes and got to try to make the guy throw the ball on time, you know from the pocket and hopefully we can cover them well enough to make it work in the back end."