What CBS football analyst Gary Danielson thinks of Tennessee QB Joe Milton, Neyland Stadium

CBS Sports analyst Gary Danielson expected big things from Tennessee quarterback Joe Milton and its playmakers this season.

But Danielson said he hasn’t seen it yet heading into the Vols’ game against Texas A&M on Saturday (3:30 p.m. ET, CBS), which he and Brad Nessler will broadcast at Neyland Stadium.

“I’m not critical, but I thought I would get more (from Milton),” Danielson told Knox News. “It’s not just Joe, though. This team doesn’t have the firepower at wide receiver that they had a year ago. So it’s a different looking process. And because of that, everything looks a little harder.”

Danielson also questions whether Neyland Stadium will be more of a factor than other SEC road environments. The Vols have won 12 straight there, and Texas A&M hasn’t won a true road game in almost two years.

No. 17 UT (4-1, 1-1 SEC) will face Texas A&M (4-2, 2-1) in a game that could be a fork in the road for the Vols’ season. Tough road games at Alabama and Kentucky follow.

Danielson called three UT games last season, including wins over Florida and Alabama and a loss to Georgia. He admits that there’s something missing in the Vols offense this season.

And that’s why he sees an urgent opportunity for Milton and a playmaking receiver to break out, especially after veteran wideout Bru McCoy suffered a season-ending ankle injury.

Do Vols have a dominant receiver on this team?

Danielson recalled how unstoppable receiver Jalin Hyatt and company were last season. But does UT have a weapon like that on this roster?

“I think it remains to be seen. So far they haven’t,” Danielson said. “You’ve got to have a receiver they feel is a mismatch. Who is that for Tennessee? They’ve got a lot of good receivers. Right now, they don’t have a mismatch – you know, where the corner is shaking in his boots at the snap.

“But there’s an opportunity for someone to emerge. We’ll see what happens and who it is for Tennessee.”

Squirrel White leads UT with 26 catches for 276 yards at slot receiver. But Danielson said the Vols must find a deep threat who can break loose on the outside.

Where Danielson thinks Joe Milton is lacking

Danielson said the lack of a dominant receiver accounts for some of Milton’s inconsistency. Other factors are the loss of offensive tackle Darnell Wright to the NFL from last season’s team, and an early season injury to center Cooper Mays.

But Danielson sees other deficiencies in Milton’s play.

“This offense works well when the quarterback is making and processing quick decisions and attacking,” Danielson said. “And so far against comparable talent, it seems to be a tenth of a second slower than what Josh Heupel would like.”

Last season, UT led the nation in scoring offense (46.1 ppg) and total offense (525.5 ypg). It’s a top-30 offense this season, averaging 35 points and 465 yards per game.

The Vols leads the SEC in rushing, but Danielson thinks Milton must challenge defenses downfield more.

“I know that Josh Heupel said he wants to run the ball,” Danielson said. “But predicated on running the ball in this offense is the threat of the pass. It has to start there for them to run the ball.”

What Milton could learn from Alabama’s Jalen Milroe

Last week, Danielson called Alabama’s 26-20 win over Texas A&M.

Alabama rushed for only 23 yards against the Aggies, who tout the SEC’s No. 1 rushing defense. So it abandoned the run and put the game in the hands of quarterback Jalen Milroe. He passed for a career-high 321 yards against Texas A&M’s sub-par secondary.

Danielson thinks Milton will get the same opportunity.

“The arrow in Joe’s quiver is his unbelievable arm talent. So he has to make that the pressure point to the game,” Danielson said. “If he can get a couple of deep balls or a big crossing route or one of those where he guns it down there where it looks like (the receiver) is covered but he puts it in there – then that will open up the rest of the game.

“So far against comparable teams, it’s been more of a struggle. But it’s an understandable struggle.”

What Danielson likes about Vols defense

Danielson thinks UT’s defensive front could impact the game as much as Texas A&M.

He believes defensive ends Tyler Baron and James Pearce could disrupt the Aggies the same way that Alabama did.

“There’s probably four really high level defensive fronts in the SEC – Alabama, Georgia, Texas A&M and Tennessee,” Danielson said. “The Tennessee front has to take the running game away from A&M and get (quarterback) Max Johnson backing up the way that Alabama did.

“If they don’t get him backing up, they’re going to have problems with the A&M offense.”

Is Neyland really like any other SEC stadium?

As for UT’s home-field advantage, Danielson thinks it could be a factor – but no more than any other SEC venue.

“This is not a criticism, just an observation. It has nothing to do with Neyland, per se, or any other stadium,” Danielson said. “(Home-field advantage) is about the same every week. Whether you’re playing at Ole Miss or LSU or Florida in The Swamp or Georgia … for a football player, loud is loud.

“I don’t know if it makes any difference if there’s 80,000 loud people or 100,000 loud people.”

UT expects a sellout crowd of 101,915 at Neyland Stadium, where the Vols have a 15-3 record in Heupel’s three seasons. It also will be a Checker Neyland game.

“I get that. It’s a way of life. We embrace it from a production standpoint, and it’s fun,” Danielson said. “I love it all, the pomp and the circumstance and the storylines.

“Tennessee doesn’t have to take a backseat to anybody. But to me, it’s just about the same (as other SEC stadiums).”

Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat reporter. Email adam.sparks@knoxnews.com. X, formerly known as Twitter@AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing at knoxnews.com/subscribe.

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