McKenzie Milton Gets Glowing Reviews From Seminole Coaches

Florida State has an ongoing quarterback battle. Jordan Travis, the Seminoles' starter for six games last season, is back. But the quarterback room also added former UCF standout McKenzie Milton via the transfer portal.

With two viable options, Mike Norvell has a good problem on his hands.

We've seen him praise the continued improvements from Travis, but don't count Milton out yet. He is giving Florida State's coaching staff exactly what they were looking for when they brought him in.

"It is exactly, honestly, what we wanted," offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham recently said, via Warchant.com. "We brought in a guy with a ton of experience, a guy who understands what it takes to be successful in McKenzie Milton, and we paired him with a young room. And McKenzie has raised the bar of our quarterback room."

That's awfully high praise for Milton, a guy who is hard to root against.

In his last two seasons at UCF (23 games), the veteran quarterback threw for 6,700 yards, 62 touchdowns and only 15 interceptions. That's close to 300 yards and three touchdowns per game, but he also added another 920 yards on 17 scores on the ground.

This is the guy who led the Knights to an undefeated season and a claimed national title in 2017. That season, he totaled 4,650 yards (4,037 passing, 613 rushing) and 45 touchdowns. Had it not been for a gruesome leg injury 10 games into the following season, who knows where Milton would be.

Yes, he's undersized at 5-foot-11, 192 pounds, but he's got playmaking ability -- both with his arm and legs. Dillingham sees how Milton's presence also helps the younger guys such as Chubba Purdy and Tate Rodemaker.

"Just by how he attacks every day, his competitive nature," Dillingham continued. "That was a big reason to bring him here. We knew the person that he was. And combine that with the fact that he's healthy, you can never have too many good quarterbacks. And I am blessed to be in the situation we're in."

Will Milton start? Eh, it's possible, but Travis is showing tremendous strides. He will be tough to beat out, but just seeing Milton out there after the injury is nothing short of incredible. He deserves a ton of credit for battling back, and the coaches recognize that.

Follow Clint Lamb on Twitter @ClintRLamb.