The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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18 THE WOLVERINE NOVEMBER 2020 quarterback for a decade and a half in the NFL. He coached Andrew Luck to star- dom at Stanford, then guided a quar- terback tandem to the Super Bowl with the San Francisco 49ers. Harbaugh al- ways has input with his men behind center. Official quarterbacks coach Ben McDaniels directed the position with the NFL's Denver Broncos, at Rutgers and now at Michigan. Gattis himself worked closely with QBs as a passing game coordinator at Penn State, co- offensive coordinator at Alabama and now the OC at Michigan. Gattis sternly warned everyone months ago that nobody enjoyed the upper hand at quarterback — yet. Soon enough, the McCaffrey backers found out why. "If you said, who is one of the most improved players on the team, obvi- ously I would like to throw Joe in that mix," Gattis said. "I don't want to just say that from a physical standpoint. When we're talking about improve- ment, improvement comes in a num- ber of different ways — leadership, physically and being able to learn the offense. "Joe has been exceptional. I love our quarterback room." Putting a finer point on Milton's gains, Gattis broke down multiple ar- eas of improvement. "It's him learning the offense," the coach pointed out. "It's him taking control and command. Every day out there, he makes some type of 'wow' play. Those wow plays are not just wow plays in college football, they'd be wow plays on Sundays. "He's blessed with tremendous tal- ent and arm strength, and he's very athletic. He can move in the pocket. That's the biggest growth he's shown — his pocket presence. "As a bigger guy who stands 6-5, he can see over the top of things. He can stand in there and really deliver throws on time." Gattis heaps praise on McDaniels and Harbaugh, regarding the develop- ment of Michigan's quarterbacks. "Both those guys have taken owner- ship and really placed an emphasis on developing those guys," Gattis said. "We couldn't be more happy." Milton even draws input from the defensive side of the field. He's sought out defensive coordinator Don Brown to better understand what he's facing in various situations. "He's a great leader," Brown noted. "Joe and I have a great relationship. He'll come in my office and ask me about coverage. I don't coach him. I don't have anything to do with him — Ben McDaniels does a tremendous job. "But that's the kind of guy he is. He's reaching out, and he's trying to get better every day. He's trying to be smarter with concepts. He's another one of those infectious guys. He's got a smile on his face all the time and is ready to go to work. "I've never seen a young man with a stronger arm than this guy. He can let it rip." SCRAMBLING FOR SUCCESS Milton's relentless pursuit of The Big House-worthy performance doesn't end there. He worked out regularly with former Michigan quarterback Devin Gardner over the summer, gleaning critical insights on playing the most scrutinized position at Michigan. He also tapped into the wisdom of Donovan Dooley of Detroit, a former college coach and founder of Quarter- Coming out of Orlando (Fla.) Olympia High School, Milton was ranked as a four-star talent, and the country's No. 11 dual-threat quarterback and No. 200 overall prospect by Rivals.com, while ESPN listed him as the No. 7 dual-threat quarterback and No. 119 overall recruit nationally. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL