FOXBORO — Patriots rookie quarterback Joe Milton III has dressed for every game this season, but he has yet to be officially active.
Rookie Joe Milton III of the New England Patriots during training camp at Gillette Stadium. (Photo By Matt Stone/Boston Herald)
As the team’s emergency third quarterback, Milton wears a uniform and pads and stands on the sideline, but he can only enter the game if both quarterbacks ahead of him on the depth chart get injured.
Fortunately for the Patriots, that has yet to happen this season.
However, head coach Jerod Mayo has been impressed with Milton’s improvement.
“You talk about a guy who is developing at a pretty good rate, it’s Joe,” Mayo said earlier this month. “We all know he can throw the ball down the field, but his progressions and things like that have definitely gotten better, and he’ll be a solid player in this league.”
Mayo said this week that Milton’s legendary arm is helping the team prepare for Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson.
Get to know Milton better in our weekly Q&A series with a new player on the Patriots.
BH: What’s your first football memory?
JM: It probably wasn’t even on a real football field. Probably was playing behind the house somewhere, but just running around, like being able to tell guys to back up, just because we had an imaginary line of scrimmage. Just telling guys to get on sides, and then just kind of going through that concept, like I was in a real game, but then turning around, just running around with the ball, trying to make a play out there behind the house.
BH: Top high school football memory?
JM: I’m gonna say when I did a QB sneak from like the 15 and still ran it in, just because I didn’t really run the ball like that that much in high school. So I’m gonna use that one for sure.
BH: Top college football memory?
JM: My 80-yard run first play of the game last year.
Joe was MOVIN
81 yards to the 🏠
📺 SEC Network
📲 https://t.co/xfbHLlg7fZ pic.twitter.com/q7PVlVQQbJ— Tennessee Football (@Vol_Football) September 23, 2023
BH: What made Tennessee so special?
JM: I feel like the culture, but the players itself. Wasn’t really stressing about anything. We always had fun. Especially with our offense. You could have much fun as you want. So we always had fun. And just try to correct plays within the game. So it was always better to do it that way, just because our route choices was very limited, so it was good to do it that way.
BH: What made Michigan special?
JM: The strength coaches. They basically ran it, like the whole thing. And Coach Herb (Ben Herbert) and his staff, they do a great job of making sure that you’re accountable, being a man, and that’s taking care of all your responsibilities, being accountable for your actions, and also just the small details. Being detail sound from the shoes to what you wear. Everybody have the same thing on. Nobody have nothing else different. It was always blue shirt, blue shorts, blue socks, blue shoes and your cleats. It’s whatever cleats you had or whatever cleats you like, but everything was always blue, blue, blue, blue. And they did a great job of holding us accountable, but making sure we hold our teammates accountable of wearing the right things.
BH: What would you be doing if you weren’t a football player?
JM: That’s hard, just because I put all my eggs in one basket. So to me, if I wasn’t a football player right now, I’d probably be coaching.
BH: Who was your favorite athlete growing up?
JM: My cousin, Anquan Boldin.
BH: Favorite movie?
JM: Drumline.
BH: Favorite musical artist?
JM: NBA YoungBoy.
BH: Who have you been closest with since you joined the Patriots?
JM: Pretty much all the receivers. Pop (DeMario Douglas), KBoutte (Kayshon Boutte), KB (Kendrick Bourne), K.J. (Osborn), Ja’Lynn (Polk), JBake (Javon Baker). Pretty much all the receivers. Just having conversations with them. I feel like, yes, as a quarterback, you want to start with the O-line, but these are the guys that are gonna go catch the ball for you and stretch the field. So we want to have a great communication, relationship with those guys.
BH: Who’s the funniest player on the team?
JM: Probably Pop (DeMario Douglas).
BH: What’s your favorite thing about the New England region?
JM: Sheesh, I would say the weather, but it’s kind of up and down. So I’ll say it’s just like Michigan to me. It’s kind of the same. So I don’t really do much. I’ll probably say the water, like the lakes. They’re pretty cool. I got one by my house, so it’s pretty good to see and walk by.
BH: Who’s a player around the league that’s underrated or underappeciated?
JM: (Lions QB) Hendon Hooker. I feel likewhat he has done, I know he haven’t had that much opportunity in NFL so far, kind of like myself, so just to be around him, and I just know that he’s still doing the same thing to this day on his work ethic and the way that he prepares for the game. So definitely him, for sure.
BH: Do you have a hidden talent?
JM: I don’t think no one seen me play the drums yet. So, yeah, probably the drums.
