Michigan’s Joe Milton Has Entered The Transfer Portal

After struggling to keep his job in 2020, Joe Milton has announced he will seek an opportunity elsewhere.

Michigan quarterback Joe Milton announced on Thursday morning that he will enter the transfer portal.

Milton won the starting job at Michigan after battling Dylan McCaffrey during the spring and fall. Though Milton got off to a solid start in week one against Minnesota, he seemed to struggle as the season progressed and was ultimately replaced by Cade McNamara in week five. In his three seasons at Michigan, Milton threw for 1,194 yards, five touchdowns and six interceptions.

I want to thank Coach Harbaugh for giving me that opportunity to come play for a program with lots of tradition. I have bonds with my brothers that will last forever, I have decided to enter the transfer portal As a Grad transfer with three years of eligibility. pic.twitter.com/PeANE2vWmD

— Joe milton #5 (@Qbjayy7) February 18, 2021

Having all of the physical attributes you’d want in a quarterback, the expectation was that Joe Milton would eventually develop into a premier quarterback at the college level. ESPN and NFL insider Adam Schefter once said that, based on his size and ability, Milton could eventually become a No. 1 pick in the NFL draft.

“I have made a couple of trips there in recent months. I’ll tell you that the staff thinks that there is more speed on defense than they’ve ever had. Shea Patterson, I laughed this week when I heard he was named the starting quarterback because he was always going to be the starting quarterback from everything I’ve heard. They have a young guy there, Brian, I am going to put on your radar right now,” Schefter told Griese. “It’s freshman quarterback by the name of Joe Milton. He’s 6-foot-5 and a quarter. He’s 230, 240 [pounds]. He runs a 4.5 40 and throws the ball 80 yards. The weigh it sounds to me is that he could one day compete to be a No. 1 overall pick in the NFL.”

Milton’s size also got the attention of former Buckeye head coach Urban Meyer.

“Let me tell you real quick about Milton,” Meyer said. “During our game, in the pregame warmups, I’d always walk over, start looking at their personnel, check them out. And I was like, ‘Who is that cat?’ That is a Cam Newton lookalike. And he’s got a hose and he can run. They need to perform at that position.”

With three years of eligibility left, Milton will likely have another opportunity elsewhere to prove he can achieve what so many expected of him in Ann Arbor.