Michigan Football: Joe Milton Looks Like Future Star At Quarterback

Michigan football picked up a huge commitment from 2018 quarterback Joe Milton, who looks like he could be a legitimate star in the future.

On Sunday afternoon, 2018 four-star quarterback Joe Milton announced in a video that he is committed to Michigan football.

Milton, rated by 247Sports as the No. 12 pro-style quarterback in the class, became the eighth player to commit to the Wolverines’ newest class. He reportedly wasn’t high on Michigan’s radar until passing game coordinator Pep Hamilton arrived in January, and Milton apparently reminds Hamilton of former Wolverines star Steve McNair.

Michigan’s top target at quarterback was Dorian Thompson-Robinson, and for a while it looked like that marriage was likely. Things got shaken up a bit when former Michigan passing coordinator Jedd Fisch left to become UCLA’s offensive coordinator. Thompson-Robinson eventually chose the Bruins, and Michigan’s attention turned to Milton.

What Milton shows immediately on tape is an incredibly strong arm. His tapes are ridiculous. Here’s a good example.

Milton’s receivers probably feel like catchers in baseball who have to ice their hand after catching certain pitchers.

Another thing you’ll notice in the tape is the accuracy Milton is able to maintain. He’s fitting the ball into very tight windows, though scouts say that isn’t always the case.

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Along those same lines, though, one thing he could work on, according to scouts, is developing a better touch. Sticking with the baseball references, he’s sort of like a pitcher who has the luxury of having a 98-mph fastball and therefore doesn’t really develop a slider or changeup.

Milton is built like a prototypical pro-style quarterback: 6-foot-4, 222 pounds. But how many prototypical pro-style quarterbacks actually exist in the college game?

Milton has very good mobility, especially for his size. If things break down, he’s far from an automatic sack and doesn’t necessarily need to just loft the ball out of bounds. At the same time, though, Milton is far from a panicking runner, by all accounts.

It looks like Milton’s time at Michigan isn’t that close. The Wolverines currently have a lot of talent at the position, and that includes young redshirt sophomore Brandon Peters. Dylan McCaffrey is also set to join the program this year from the 2017 class.

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But looking at Milton’s strengths as they stand now is very encouraging for what Michigan might have to work with in the future.

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