Joe Milton III set career-highs in touchdown passes and passing yards in his final game at Neyland Stadium, totaling six touchdowns against Vanderbilt.
Joe Milton III went out at Neyland Stadium in style, delivering a career-best performance to power Tennessee to a 48-24 win against in-state rival Vanderbilt in Saturday’s regular-season finale. The sixth-year senior quarterback was 22-of-32 passing for 383 yards and accounted for six touchdowns, becoming the first player to do so for the Vols since Jonathan Crompton in 2009 against Memphis. It’s been an up and down season for Milton, but he was unquestionably excellent in this one as his work in the first three quarters pushed Tennessee to a 45-10 lead.
In addition to scoring on a pair of 2-yard touchdown runs, Milton tossed scoring passes to wide receiver Ramel Keyton (56 and 46 yards) and tight ends McCallan Castles (10 yards) and Jacob Warren (34 yards). The Vols finished with a season-best 617 yards of offense. Tennessee scored six touchdowns and one field goal on Milton’s 10 series at quarterback.
“Proud of his resiliency,” Vols head coach Josh Heupel said. “Continued to prepare, fight and compete extremely well. … He was really good throughout the course of the football game. Decisive, was in the right spot, recognized coverage. Did some really good things. Had some guys out on the perimeter make plays. For most of it, the protection was really pretty solid. There were a couple of times it broke down, he extended and made some plays. Proud of the effort from the offensive line. Obviously that group was extremely beat-up.”
If this performance was how he would have wanted to go out on Senior Day:
“Yeah, absolutely. You go out with a bang. Every game, you try to do that. But the most important one is this last one inside of the stadium. You show a team that that’s how we play when we get inside this stadium, so that’s the legacy that I’m going to hold on to and leave it on to my guy Nico.”
On his emotions on Senior Day and what he’ll remember most about playing at Neyland Stadium:
“I kind of got mine out Friday (during) my throwing session here at the stadium before we play on Saturdays. So just walking down by the tunnel by myself Friday, I kind of started crying, but my coaches were in front of me, so I’ve got to show that I’m tough, man. But just playing inside of this stadium for one last time, it was amazing.
“I wish the guys that come up after us, I wish they take it as serious as us. We left a legacy here that there’s only one way we play when we get inside that stadium, and that’s hard. There’s only two things you can control – that’s your effort and your attitude. So once you get inside that stadium and you put those jerseys on, that’s what I hope you have.”
On going out with a bang and leaving his mark in his last home game:
“Yeah, absolutely. I feel like every other game that we had here we could have played harder, but this one especially, you want to end the season right, correctly, and especially with it home and a home-state rivalry. You’ve got to be able to just go and you’ve got to be able to give your all for Tennessee, and that’s what we did tonight.”
On tight ends Jacob Warren and McCallan Castles being more of a factor in the passing game:
“It was just Cover 0, 4-3 (defense). No. 2 (Vanderbilt safety De’Rickey Wright) was – I knew from the point, from the snap, from post-snap and pre-snap, I knew we had the tight end all week and we had that same look. They did exactly what we thought they was going to do. And when they gave me the go-ahead to play that play (on the touchdown to Warren), I was like, ‘Man, there’s only one spot I can put this ball.’ Then I looked at the tight end spot and I’d seen who it was, I was like, ‘Aw, man, 2 got a hell of night, man.’ So I just did my job. Just do your job at a high level. That’s all we pretty much ask for, and I did that, (Warren) did that and the O-line played great tonight. I’ve got to give the props to them.”
What made him so effective on a six-touchdown night:
“These guys. Pretty much the whole offense. Joe can’t be Joe without the other 10 guys. So whatever they do and how they do it, the preparation throughout the week, the film study – they’re asking me questions throughout practice, just asking me how this ball is going to be up, how his balls going to be, just all the small details. That’s pretty much what we ask for. Like I said, those six touchdowns wouldn’t happen if the other 10 guys wasn’t doing their job at a high level.”
On the offensive line dealing with injuries all season and in this game:
“Champions always find a way. That’s how I view life. Champions find a way, so we didn’t know what the week was going to hold. We didn’t know who was going to play. Sunday night, we didn’t know who was going to be the starter for this Saturday. As an offense, you’ve just got to go out there, everybody should know the offense. I feel like if you played the whole season, everybody on the offense, no matter who you are, you should know the offense, so when your opportunity shows up, you’ve got to be able to show out.
“I feel like those five that was out there with me tonight, they played their heart out. They did all they can, what they was asked of. Then the guys around me – the running backs, the tight ends, the receivers – everybody else just did their job at a high level, man.. That’s all we pretty much asked for. That’s what they did.”
On being emotional about his final home game at Tennessee and how he looks back on the experience of his career and his time with the Vols:
“I don’t know, man. My journey’s been shaky. Three years at Michigan. First two years playing only eight games, and then my junior year Covid happened, 2020. You get a start and you get to play three games and your second game of the season, you get hurt to an injury. So you just look back at those things, and to be honest I just never gave myself the fruits of the labor.
“This is the longest season I’ve ever been in, and also just making it through, also just being able to go game from game and flushing the last one – that’s pretty much all you ask for, but I didn’t do it alone. I had a whole bunch of guys behind me and they was telling me all the right things. They kept me up. They made sure that I was smiling, because everybody knew if I wasn’t smiling, nobody else would smile. So they made sure I was smiling. Like these two guys (Jacob Warren and McCallan Castles), day in and day out, they always said they have my back. So just to come out here and get those two guys a touchdown, man, I feel great. I feel awesome.”
On thanking the media (after Jacob Warren did the same):
“On a serious note, thank y’all. Nobody really knows how much work y’all put in, how long y’all stay up at night, man. It’s truly an honor to be in front of you guys and get to (be) asked questions from you guys, man. It’s been a blessing. It’s been a great three years. We’ve got one more to do, so let’s go have fun.”
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