Nebraska Football: Make QB McKenzie Milton a Husker

Milton should come to Nebraska.

This morning like many a college football fan, I was struck with the news that UCF Quarterback McKenzie Milton will be entering the transfer portal. Immediately my mind raced to the palace, the mind of many a Husker fan and many a college football fan raced to; the idea that Milton maybe be headed to Lincoln.

My first instinct was I want this move to happen, and after taking some time and thinking it through my opinion has not changed. However to my surprise the reaction of the Husker faithful was more mixed than I expected.

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Upon hearing the news of an elite quarterback possibly transferring to Nebraska, I took to the ever objective and rational Twitter to see what fellow fans had to say. To my shock and dismay the reaction to the McKenzie Milton news was not overwhelmingly positive. Nebraska fans are constantly lamenting the lack of wins the team gets along with the quarterback play at times, so why not take a chance on Milton. He was an elite player and a Heisman challenger in 2017 when he passed for 4,037 yards, threw 37 TDs with only 9 INT’s with a completion percentage of 67.1 (ESPN). He with Scott Frost led the charge that was UCF from bottom feeders to a top team not only in the AAC but in the whole of college football.

I will grant the fact that he is coming off of a truly serious injury and has not played for many years however, I have a simple question for all you Husker fans waxing about ‘how full the QB room is’. What do we stand to lose? Nothing. We would still have options in McCaffery (who probably wasn’t going to start next year anyway) or in Adrian Martinez. What do we stand to gain? Quite a lot in fact. If he returns to form, Milton has the potential to be the shot in the arm the program needs and to be Frost’s man on the field who could lead Nebraska back to serious competition. So why not take a chance on a true competitor, a player who knows the Frost system, a player with tremendous upside.

The opportunity seems too good to be true when neither of the current quarterback options have truly made the position theirs. Martinez looks more likely to lead Nebraska next year however he has had highs as well as lows. McCaffery, though tremendously talented, does have growing to do before he leads the Huskers each and every Saturday. Next year is a big one for the program and for coach Frost. Undeserved disillusionment is begging to breed in the fanbase, though I believe many will give the team a mulligan for the COVID 19 season.

Next season, all the Nebraska young talent on the offense will be a year older and ready to start seriously competing for the Big 10 West and having a motivating veteran presence leading the team could do wonders in teaching this young group of players how to win. According to the Omaha Star Journal, Frost is still in contact with Milton and had this to say, “He’s the type of guy you want around because of who he is and the energy he brings.”

Nebraska fans, ask yourself these questions, ‘Do you want to compete for the Big 10 Championship? Do you want to be a top 10 team? Do you want to win another National Championship?’. This move is a step in getting back there. I’m not saying Milton alone can win everything, but bringing in the most talented players we can and amassing the most talent in Lincoln as possible is how we do that. And by bringing who could be the best quarterback available is a step in doing that.

I know the Husker faithful are divided, I am not. I don’t know the player Milton will be when he returns, no one does. However I believe it is foolish to count someone with such a strong desire to play, to compete with so much talent out and I believe it to be foolish for a fanbase to not want every talented player possible to be on your team.