McKenzie Milton(born October 10, 1997) is an Americancollege footballcoach who is an offensive analyst for theUniversity of Tennessee.He played college football as aquarterbackforUCFandFlorida State.
 Milton being interviewed at the trophy presentation for the2017 American Athletic Conference Championship | |
| Current position | |
|---|---|
| Title | Offensive analyst |
| Team | Tennessee |
| Conference | SEC |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | October 10, 1997 Kapolei, Hawaii,U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 2016–2020 | UCF |
| 2021 | Florida State |
| Position(s) | Quarterback |
| Coaching career (HCunless noted) | |
| 2023–present | Tennessee(OA) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Awards | |
| |
College career
editUCF
editMilton was a three-star dual-threat quarterback fromMililani High SchoolinMililani,Hawaii.He chose UCF because of new head coachScott Frost,the former offensive coordinator ofHeismanwinning quarterbackMarcus Mariota,whom Milton had idolized in high school.[1]Milton started 10 games his freshman year leading theKnightsto a 6–6 regular season record and an appearance in theCure Bowl.The previous year, the Knights had gone 0–12. In his Sophomore year, Milton led theKnightsto a 12–0 regular season record, winning theAAC[2]and eventually thePeach Bowlagainst the SEC runner-upAuburn Tigers.[3]Milton was named the AAC offensive player of the year.[4]Milton was named one of the finalists for the 2017Heisman Trophyand placed 8th in voting. Milton was named the offensive MVP in the 2018 Peach Bowl,[5]despite not reaching a 50% completion rating (he had only been below 60% once for the entire 2017 year, and never below 50%),[6]Milton threw for two touchdowns and went 13/18 in the second half. He ended the game 16 of 35 with 242 yards, 2 touchdowns and no interceptions. Milton also excelled with his legs, picking up 116 yards on the ground and scoring a touchdown, which led all UCF rushers.[7]This wasUCF's first everPeach Bowlwin, and secondNew Year's Sixwin in four years. Following the game, the Knights were ranked #1 in an NCAA recognized poll and the school was therefore entitled to claim a national championship.[a]
Injury and aftermath
editOn November 23, 2018, UCF played the last game of the regular season against in-state rivalUniversity of South Florida.Early in the second quarter, Milton pulled the ball on abelly optionand ran right. He was tackled by two USF players. This caused Milton to dislocate his knee.[11]He was carted off the field and then rushed to nearbyTampa General Hospital.Upon arrival, doctors found extensive damage to the arteries and nerves in his right knee. Emergency surgery was undertaken to restore arterial blood flow;[12]this involved taking thesaphenous veinout of his left leg and transferring the vessel to the right leg to restore blood flow to that limb.[13]The surgery was successful. Two more surgeries followed over the course of several days. Milton was discharged from the hospital on November 30. Milton underwent reconstructive knee surgery in January 2019.[14]
In an interview he gave forESPN's Andrea Adelson as the second anniversary of his injury approached, Milton publicly revealed for the first time that he had to undergo two subsequent operations. He was walking again in the late spring of 2019, but in July woke up with what Adelson described as "searing pain" in the rebuilt knee and was unable to walk. He immediately saw a physician who put a needle in that knee, drawing out pus. The doctor told Milton that he needed an immediate surgery to keep him from losing the cadaver tissue that had been used in the initial reconstruction. After that surgery, Milton had aperipherally inserted central catheterinstalled for daily antibiotics, but anMRIrevealed a pocket of pus behind the rebuilt knee, leading to another surgery near the start of the 2019 season. In the 2020 interview, Milton estimated that the infection set his recovery back six months. He was eventually cleared to resume football activity during the summer of 2020, and ran UCF's scout team in that season.[15]
Florida State
editIn a video posted by UCF Football on December 3, 2020, Milton announced that he would seek a transfer for the 2021 college football season.[16]Milton stated in the video that he believed "It'sDillon Gabriel's team now "and would not want to remove Gabriel from the spotlight.[17]On December 13, 2020, Milton announced that he would be transferring toFlorida State Universityto play for coachMike Norvell.[18]
On September 5, 2021, he returned for his first game since the injury. On his first throw in Florida State's game againstNotre Dame,he threw a complete pass. Notre Dame won the game 41–38. Milton completed 5 passes of 7 attempts for 48 yards and led the Seminoles back from a 10-point deficit late in the 4th quarter to tie the game and force overtime.[19]
Hula Bowl
editMilton was invited to the2022 Hula BowlAll-star game,in which he represented Team AINA as the starting quarterback. This was his first time playing a game back in theBounce Housesince 2018.[20]Milton wore a custom gold helmet representing both UCF on one side and Florida State on the other, with a peace fingers sticker on the back representing the recent passing of friend and former UCF teammateOtis Anderson Jr.[21]
NIL venture
editOn July 1, 2021, NCAA student-athletes were allowed to receive compensation for use of theirname, image, and likeness(NIL) for the first time, and Milton was one of the first athletes to take advantage of the new rules. He andMiamiquarterbackD'Eriq Kingbecame the co-founders and public faces of Dreamfield, a company specializing in booking live appearances for student-athletes. Dreamfield also offersnon-fungible tokens(NFTs), digital art works that cannot be duplicated and are purchased withcryptocurrency.Milton was the subject of Dreamland's first NFT auction, set for July 6, 2021.[22]
Statistics
edit| Season | Games | Passing | Rushing | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | Record | Comp | Att | Pct | Yards | Avg | TD | Int | Rate | Att | Yards | Avg | TD | |
| UCF Knights | ||||||||||||||
| 2016 | 10 | 4–6 | 194 | 336 | 57.7 | 1,983 | 5.9 | 10 | 7 | 113.0 | 100 | 158 | 1.6 | 3 |
| 2017 | 13 | 13–0 | 265 | 395 | 67.1 | 4,037 | 10.2 | 37 | 9 | 179.3 | 106 | 613 | 5.8 | 8 |
| 2018 | 10 | 10–0 | 171 | 289 | 59.2 | 2,663 | 9.2 | 25 | 6 | 161.0 | 79 | 307 | 3.9 | 9 |
| 2019 | DNP | |||||||||||||
| 2020 | ||||||||||||||
| Florida State Seminoles | ||||||||||||||
| 2021 | 6 | 0–4 | 81 | 139 | 58.3 | 775 | 5.6 | 3 | 6 | 103.6 | 31 | -13 | -0.4 | 0 |
| Career | 39 | 27−10 | 711 | 1,159 | 61.3 | 9,458 | 8.2 | 75 | 28 | 146.4 | 316 | 1,065 | 3.4 | 20 |
Coaching career
editOn May 23, 2023, Milton was hired by theUniversity of Tennesseeas an offensive analyst, reuniting with his former head coachJosh Heupel.[23][24][25]
References
edit- ^Hummer, Chris (November 2, 2017)."In McKenzie Milton, Scott Frost has molded another Hawaiian QB sensation".247sports.RetrievedNovember 29,2017.
- ^"American Athletic Conference – All Sports Conference Standings".theamerican.org.RetrievedNovember 29,2017.
- ^Wittry, Andy (January 1, 2018)."Peach Bowl 2018: UCF holds off Auburn to cap perfect 13–0 season".NCAA.com.RetrievedJanuary 3,2018.
- ^Green, Shannon (November 29, 2017)."UCF's Scott Frost named AAC coach of year, McKenzie Milton also earns top honors".Orlando Sentinel.RetrievedNovember 29,2017.
- ^"Central Florida completes perfect season with defeat of Auburn in Peach Bowl".USA TODAY.Associated Press. January 1, 2018.RetrievedJanuary 3,2018.
- ^"McKenzie Milton".ESPN.com.RetrievedJanuary 3,2018.
- ^"StatMonitr Stat Feed".stats.statbroadcast.com.RetrievedJanuary 3,2018.
- ^"2017 Rankings, Week 17".Colley Matrix.RetrievedMay 29,2019.
- ^"Football Bowl Subdivision Records"(PDF).NCAA. p. 109.RetrievedJanuary 10,2018.
- ^Seeley, Andy (January 10, 2018)."Knights Ranked No. 1 – UCF"(Press release). UCF Athletics. Archived fromthe originalon March 22, 2018.RetrievedJanuary 18,2018.
- ^"Mckenzie Milton Injury".CBS. November 24, 2018.RetrievedDecember 1,2018.
- ^"Mckenzie Milton out of Hospital".ESPN. December 2018.RetrievedDecember 1,2018.
- ^Milton, McKenzie (April 18, 2019)."UCF QB McKenzie Milton's journey, in his own words: 'I got hurt for a reason'".ESPN.com.RetrievedNovember 24,2020.
- ^"Mckenzie Milton Update".Sporting News.RetrievedDecember 1,2018.
- ^Adelson, Andrea (November 24, 2020)."UCF's McKenzie Milton takes one more step toward improbable comeback".ESPN.com.RetrievedNovember 24,2020.
- ^"UCF QB Milton enters portal, seeks starting job".ESPN.com.December 3, 2020.RetrievedDecember 3,2020.
- ^@ucf_football (December 3, 2020)."Mahalo, McKenzie #10hana"(Tweet).RetrievedDecember 3,2020– viaTwitter.
- ^"QB McKenzie Milton is transferring to FSU".Noles247.
- ^"Notre Dame vs. Florida State – Box Score – September 5, 2021 – ESPN".ESPN.com.
- ^"McKenzie Milton to represent UCF and Florida State in Hula Bowl".clickorlando.com.January 10, 2022.
- ^"WATCH: McKenzie Milton shows off custom Hula Bowl Helmet".si.com.January 12, 2022.
- ^Adelson, Andrea (July 1, 2021)."Florida State's McKenzie Milton, Miami's D'Eriq King join in on NIL platform Dreamfield".ESPN.com.RetrievedJuly 1,2021.
- ^"McKenzie Milton Joins Tennessee Football Staff".UT Sports.May 23, 2023.RetrievedNovember 8,2023.
- ^"Former UCF star QB McKenzie Milton joins Tennessee as offensive analyst".AP News.May 25, 2023.RetrievedNovember 8,2023.
- ^Gray, Nick (May 25, 2023)."Former UCF star McKenzie Milton reunites with Josh Heupel as Tennessee football offensive analyst".They Daytona Beach News-Journal.RetrievedNovember 8,2023.
Notes
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