The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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NOVEMBER 2020 THE WOLVERINE 19 back University, a private QB-honing operation. Milton and another former U-M quarterback, Brandon Peters, tumbled onto Dooley through former Michigan passing game coordinator Pep Hamilton, whose son Jackson trained under Dooley. Dooley regards Milton like a little brother — as much as you can some- one who is 6-5. "He's huge," Dooley said. "He looked like an action figure. He's a big man. "As you begin to talk to him, about his experience and his background, you could tell he's very intentional about getting better. That's what I ap- preciated more than anything. "Sometimes you see a highly touted guy, and they come in with an 'I've arrived' mannerism. He didn't. He came in with a blue-collar work ethic — 'Hey, let's get it done.' I was really pleased about that." Working out of a home base at Walled Lake Western High School, Dooley drilled Milton regularly on a host of fundamentals. Dooley em- phasizes what he terms "cerebral acu- men," along with checklist items such as base and balance, and throwing catchable footballs — something Mil- ton needed to learn. "We talked about taking the arm out of the throw and just anticipat- ing," Dooley mentioned. "There never should be a point in time where you're throwing the ball as hard as you can, whether it's on schedule or off sched- ule. We'd just talk about throwing catchable footballs, and Joe has been really conscious on doing that. "It's just the eyes and feet being at- tached. Making sure he understands manipulating defenders with his head." Gattis affirms Milton's progress in the catchable football category. "Everyone's got all five fingers," Gattis quipped. "There's no one get- ting any fingers jammed, losing any- thing. That's gone really well. His ac- curacy has been exceptional. "That's one of the things we have talked about, as far as taking RPMs off, knowing how to give a catchable ball. Accuracy as far as ball placement was never an issue. Sometimes the issue had been in the past whether those receivers could catch it that fast. "He's done a really good job of im- proving that, but still maintaining the power in his arm. So far, he's thrown three balls at 70 yards out there. When you see a ball travel like that, 70 yards, it's very hard to track a ball that long. He's shown pinpoint accuracy on those. "I've gotten to the point now where I tell the receivers, 'Don't stop run- ning.'" Dooley admits to some amazement when witnessing Milton launch one for the first time. "I didn't say it out loud, but I just thought, damn," Dooley said. "He's stretching the field vertically, and the football looks like a tennis ball in his hand. He can definitely do it. "I'd always rein him back in. Deep balls are low-percentage passes. Moving the chains is most important. When you get those opportunities, obviously you want to take those shots. But just understand, if you're throwing too many deep balls, either A, you're behind, or B, you're not be- ing disciplined." The QBU founder loves Milton's attitude of controlling what he can control. He also worked hard helping shape Milton's mental approach. "That's 90 percent of it," Dooley said. "Every throw, you've got to have a next-play mentality as a quar- terback. We're situational creatures. We think down and distance, we're selfless players, making guys around us better. "When things are going bad, it's your job to keep everybody calm. You're in the huddle, and you've got 10 other men who are looking you square in the eye. If you're looking nervous, and you don't sound con- fident and you don't believe, that's an issue. It's going to fester into the team. "We talk about a [Tom] Brady mentality, just keeping guys going. Staying positive, being encouraging. Knowing when to kick a guy in the butt and when to give him a pat on the back. Treating everybody fairly, but different. You've got to under- stand your people." Milton understands. He grasps more than anybody knows yet, ac- cording to several coaches. Dooley sees the quiet confidence, and cannot wait to witness how it plays out on the field. "Moxie — he has a ton of moxie," Dooley said. "When he went to high school in Florida, he always was con- fident. Once thing Joe doesn't lack is confidence. "He believes in himself, and he be- lieves in what he can do. He doesn't fear anything. I always talk about, when you're coming down a hill, either you're going to see giants or you're going to see grasshoppers. "Joe sees grasshoppers, every time." ❏ Ronnie Bell Says Milton Is 'Just Lights-Out' Michigan junior wide receiver Ronnie Bell fashioned a sneak preview with classmate Joe Milton last spring, despite the absence of spring football. Bell saw enough to come away excited with a 2020 vision. Bell and Michigan's redshirt sophomore quarterback got together long before team workouts were allowed. They put that time to good use. "We got back to Ann Arbor a lot sooner than everybody else," Bell said. "We've both been here since April. We got a lot of work in together during that time period, because it was literally just me and him." The junior wideout doesn't have the same questions as those who have only witnessed Milton throwing 11 collegiate passes thus far. He's convinced Milton is ready to go. "This is the best I've ever seen Joe," Bell offered. "Joe got here a semester before me, but I've been around Joe as much as anybody. He's just lights-out right now. It's very exciting to play alongside him." Michigan sideline reporter Doug Karsch gives a big nod to Milton, noting the 6-5 QB with the rocket launcher connected to his right shoulder draws praise from all quarters inside Schembechler Hall. He also knows there's plenty to prove when the curtain rises. Karsch cited ex- amples in Michigan history of "State Street All-Americans" who came up short when the bright lights went on. The true test? Make the best plays in the biggest game of the year. Michigan has been in short supply of those, for more than a decade. That's what they need, he stressed. — John Borton