Quarterback Instructor Praises Joe Milton

Quarterback instructor and owner of Quarterback University Donovan Dooley has seen his fair share of talented quarterbacks so when he lights up while talking about Joe Milton, it's warranted.

Dooley has been working with Milton for several months now and has been thoroughly impressed by everything that comes along with the quarterback.

"Joe is a grinder," Dooley said. "We’re just continuing to train together and it’s going really well. It’s been about three months overall.

"You’re always going to be wowed or enamored by Joe’s skill set, but the one thing he’s most conscious of right now is not being a one-trick pony. He doesn’t want to have just a fastball, he wants to have a change up. On those intermediate shots, we’re working more on anticipation. He has the arm talent to fit the ball into small windows but in the grand scheme of things, anticipation is always better. Throwing a catchable football is key. He’s been working on those things continuously. I think once he gets more consistent with that, he’s going to be special. He is a special talent and there’s no doubt that he’s a dude. He’s got an extremely bright future."

Milton has always had elite arm strength and a ton of natural ability, but accuracy has been an issue dating back to his high school days. Dooley isn't worried about that and hasn't seen anything alarming when it comes to Milton's accuracy or ability to throw every type of pass.

"Sometimes in high school, a lot of those quarterbacks don’t have really high percentages because the game is so much about stretching the ball vertically," Dooley explained. "So many highlight tapes are filled with verticals. Deep throws are low percentage passes so I don’t really see that as a knock. Right now, since he has matured cerebrally from his freshman year till now, he totally understands that and he’s definitely conscious of those different aspects of the position. I think he’s going to do very well."

Milton himself is paying attention to his accuracy too. Workouts aren't just airing it out and spreading it around the field. Milton is going through everything just like he would inside the Al Glick Fieldhouse or inside Michigan Stadium on Saturdays.

"Every time he’s on the field he’s sorting through the schemes he runs," Dooley explained. "Whether it’s about protection, recognizing hots or leverage, different coverage schemes and what not — he’s very conscious. He’s not just throwing random routes on air. He’s actually dialing it up and understanding what he’s doing in a specific manner. Whether it’s a muddy pocket, working on-schedule or off-schedule and delivering the football, he’s doing all of that. He’s definitely conscious of all of that and his accuracy and types of throws."

Milton is also making sure to take what he does on the field home with him in order to take a lot of mental reps as well.

"During sessions while we’re filming he’ll come back and look at it right away. He’ll check it and see how he looked, if he did it correctly," Dooley said. "He’s looking to see if his eyes are in the right place. He wants to make sure he’s not locked on to where he’s going with the ball. He’s working on manipulating coverages with his eyes and doing better at that. He’s matured and he’s really embraced getting better at the position.

"He’s embracing the entire craft of playing quarterback right now. He’s got a chip on his shoulder and he wants to be great. He’s not really about proving people wrong, though. He’s more about proving people right who believe in him. That’s his process right now."

So the big question is, will Milton win the job? He's competing with Dylan McCaffrey, who is also very capable. So what's it going to take?

"He just needs the opportunity. That’s it," Dooley said. "If he gets a chance to go out there and showcase, that’ll be all it takes.

"He’s a leader, he’s vocal and he’s very intentional with what he’s doing right now. I also like how authentic Joe is. He is who he is and I think in terms of a competition, you have go give him that opportunity. The time is now. He’s definitely a talent. He’s way too talented to be a sit and wait guy."

Dooley also went on to explain just how freaky Joe is. There's a lot more to playing quarterback than being big and strong and throwing the ball a long ways, but Milton has all of that stuff in spades.

"Listen, if you look at his traits he’s got everything," Dooley said. "He literally has everything a quarterback needs. He can throw the ball from any landmark, he can run, he can get you out of trouble. When you’re wrong, he can make you right as an offensive coordinator. Not a lot of kids across the country can do that.

"He’s like a created player. If you could draw up a player on Madden, you’d draw up Joe. He’s 6-6, 245 and he can really roll. He can easily throw the ball 70-plus yards. It’s really easy for him. We want to make sure they’re completed, but he is impressive."

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