Antwaan Randle El hired to Detroit Lions staff| JOE MILTON ENTERS TRANSFER PORTAL Michigan quarterback Joe Milton has entered the NCAA transfer portal as a graduate transfer, 247Sports has learned. Milton played in six games last season for the Wolverines, starting five of them.
Milton came with transform-the-offense hype last offseason. Instead, he struggled as a decision maker and finished the 2020 season with 1,077 yards passing and a 1-to-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio while completing 56.7% of his passes. The big-armed former four-star quarterback struggled so much he was benched in favor of Cade McNamara.
"McNamara had been somewhat a forgotten presence on a Wolverines roster that included Milton and Dylan McCaffrey," 247Sports national college football reporter Chris Hummer wrote last week. "But McNamara, a four-star recruit in the 2019 class, immediately elevated Michigan’s offense when inserted against Rutgers. He finished that game 27-for-35 with 260 yards and four touchdowns. He had a less productive effort against Penn State in Michigan's eventual finale. Still, McNamara showed a propensity for taking care of the football that Milton lacked." Michigan's quarterbacks room was shaken up significantly Thursday morning when former starting quarterback and four-star recruit Joe Milton entered the NCAA transfer portal. It marked a common theme of quarterback recruits under Jim Harbaugh leaving the program. Milton played in six games last season for the Wolverines, starting five of them. Michigan's two biggest names that remain in the quarterbacks room after his transfer are third-year sophomore Cade McNamara and incoming five-star freshman J.J. McCarthy.
“I want to thank Coach Harbaugh for giving me that opportunity to come play for a program with lots of tradition,” Milton wrote on Twitter. “I have bonds with my brothers that will last forever, I have decided to enter the transfer portal As a Grad transfer with three years of eligibility.”
The Wolverines are entering a crucial season. Coming off a 2-4 season, Harbaugh received a contract extension that ties him to Michigan through 2025. In his six years with the program, he's yet to find stardom at the quarterback position. Presumably, McCarthy and McNamara will battle it out.
