Joe Milton's Ability To Read Defenses Is On A New Level

Michigan quarterback Joe Milton has had a big offseason, and he's eager to show how much he has grown.

Participating in a new episode of Coach Hayes Football's daily college football series, Michigan quarterback Joe Milton shared a lot of detail about his progression in the Wolverines' offense, his growth as a leader and much more on Tuesday night.

Milton and Hayes go pretty far back, all the way to Orlando (Fla.) Olympia where the latter taught the former as a head coach. Olympia's offensive line coach from that time frame, Coach Sheridan, was also on the episode along with Johnny Olden, so the three caught up and Milton spoke candidly about how he's developed in Ann Arbor. 

Now that Milton is entering his third season at Michigan and is close to obtaining his degree, the 6-5, 243-pound passer approaches his duty as a leader differently since he's the presumed starter for the 2020 season. 

"As a leader, I kind of approach it a different way," Milton said. "I was observant the first two years. In order to be a leader, you have to be observant, so I kind of looked at it that way. My leadership role, to me myself when I look at my self in the mirror, it impresses me too, like how I come and go inside the building and how people approach me, so I feel like my role has improved."

That is just one example of the maturation Milton has undergone at Michigan. He's also realized that part of winning the starting quarterback position requires a full understanding of the playbook, and that gave him a unique prospective on his first two seasons. 

"My freshman year, I was kind of young and I wanted to play right away," Milton said. "I thought I had everything down. When I came to my sophomore year, I was like, 'dang, I'm glad I didn't play my freshman year because I didn't know. I didn't know the offense. I didn't know what defense they were playing.' I just wanted to run round and throw the ball out there, but it's all important. 

"Then after this year looking back from where I am now, I'm glad I didn't play last year," Milton added. "Why I say that is because now I can tell you what a defense is doing before they even do it. I feel like my Quarterbacks Coach, Coach [Ben] McDaniels helped me a lot and Coach [Jim] Harbaugh helped me a lot with IDing coverages, knowing my key parts, knowing that my star, if he's inside leverage and it's two high, then they're going high and wide or they're playing a cover four, [it's] knowing all the small things."

In high school, Milton said he was familiar with different types of defensive schemes, such as cover one, two, three and four, but he didn't have a grasp on the intricacies of each formation and how a defense could disguise his actual play. Now, that's all in the past.

"From sophomore year to junior year from knowing the offense, my first year in the offense it was like Spanish to me is how I can explain it," Milton said. "I really didn't understand too much, but now if you ask me a question about the offense, I can tell you the ins and outs of this play, what type of coverage you need for this play, what type off front that we need to block this run scheme. I can tell you anything you need to know about this play, where the ball should go, my read. In other words, I feel more comfortable than I ever did in this offense. I feel like we're on the right path as an offense."

For Milton, having another offseason in U-M offensive coordinator Josh Gattis' offense has been paramount to his comfort level. But just as Milton is growing mentally, he's been continuing to keep his body in shape for what is currently a nine game season. 

According to Milton, his last 40-yard dash produced a time of 4.62, so he's ever closer to having the wheels to match his rocket arm strength.

"Coming out of high school, I was pretty slow," Milton said. "I didn't know how to use my stride. Michigan taught me how to run correctly, how to come out of my stance correctly, how to drive, how to get my load down, building my quads and just getting faster. I'm getting more flexible."

If the game has slowed down enough and Milton can process defensive formations both pre-snap and mid-play, the Michigan offense could have a firepower to it that has been absent in Ann Arbor for the past couple years.

What type of season do you expect Milton to have in 2020? Will the Michigan passer prove that he's the right guy for the job this season? Let us know!