Michigan Football: Joe Milton among Wolverines most improved

Michigan football offensive coordinator Josh Gattis spoke to the media Wednesday and said good things about quarterback Joe Milton.

It’s pretty obvious that Joe Milton took some strides this offseason, which is why he appears to be the next starting quarterback for Michigan football, beating out Dylan McCaffrey.

The reports about Milton’s development have nearly all been positive and even before McCaffrey made the decision to opt out and transfer, it was clear that Milton was going to be the starter.

And on Wednesday, Michigan’s offensive coordinator Josh Gattis met with the local media via zoom and opened up even more about the development of Milton (via Rivals):

"“If you asked me who the most improved players on the team are, I’d like to throw Joe into that mix. It’s not just from a physical standpoint, but leadership-wise and learning the offense as well. He’s blessed with a tremendous skill set with his arm and accuracy; he has every throw in the bag, plus an extra club you don’t necessarily need to carry all the time.”"

Gattis touhed on a number of different offensvie players during his interview and gave praise to every position group. He talked about the strength of the running backs and the wide receivers.

But the most important position is quarterback. Everyone knows that and even though some Michigan football fans were glad to see Shea Patterson leave, Gattis said it left some unknowns.

"“The spot was a little scary for us, losing a starter from last year. I challenged our guys going into the offseason to step up and lead the team, and Cade (McNamara) and Joe have displayed a tremendous ability as leaders. Joe makes ‘wow plays’ every single day that would be ‘wow plays’ on Sundays as well.”"

There has been talk of Milton making 70-yard passes in practice and with guys like Giles Jackson, Ronnie Bell, Cornelius Johnson, A.J. Henning, Roman Wilson and Mike Sainristil to throw the football to, Milton will have more than enough weapons.

That doesn’t even consider Chris Evans and Blake Corum, who are each known for their ability to catch the football out of the backfield.

With the development of Milton, the sky is the limit for Michigan’s offense in 2020. There are questions sure, but the one thing the Wolverines have been missing is an elite quarterback and by all accounts, they’ve found that with Milton.