Incredible is the best word to describe it.
McKenzie Milton, out of football due to a life-threatening knee injury since 2018, is back!!!
Yes sir, the 2015 Mililani graduate came off the bench Sunday for Florida State and completed five of seven passes for 48 yards in a 41-38 overtime loss to Notre Dame.
What’s more, he completed his first pass after coming in for starter Jordan Travis in the fourth quarter. You can watch that on the video below.
On that first drive, he went 4-for-4 for 36 yards., entering the game right after a play in which Travis lost his helmet. Instead of going back to Travis, Florida State and coach Mike Norvell kept Milton for the rest of the game, including the overtime period.
According to a story in DraftKingsNation.com, Milton “has to be” considered the likely starter for the Seminoles’ game next week against Jacksonville State.
On the video above, you can see Milton smiling as he walks to the line of scrimmage as the home crowd roars.
A screenshot from the video of McKenzie Milton entering in the fourth quarter
of Florida State’s 41-38 overtime loss to Notre Dame on Sunday.
Dr. Bruce Levy told the Tampa Bay Times that the odds of Milton playing football again after the 2018 injury were like an MLB rookie hitting a grand slam in his first at-bat and then doing it three more times in the same game.
Milton was a star quarterback at Mililani, leading the Trojans to the top-tier state championship in 2014, the school’s first.
He then played three seasons at UCF and, while recovering from the injury, transferred to Florida State for his senior year. He’s 27-6 as a college starter and finished sixth in the voting for the 2018 Heisman Trophy and eighth in 2017.
In 2017, Milton led the Knights to a 13-0 record and a No. 6 final ranking in the Associated Press poll. That season ended with UCF beating No. 7 Auburn 34-27 in front of 71,109 fans in the Peach Bowl.
In his three seasons at UCF, Milton threw for 8,683 yards, with a completion percentage of 61.8, 72 TD passes, 22 interceptions, 1,078 rushing yards and 20 rushing TDs.
Milton missed the last two games of 2018 after the devastating injury that caused nerve damage and led to reconstructive knee surgery.
In Hawaii high school football, Milton ranks sixth all time with 7,303 passing yards.
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RELATED STORIES THROUGH THE YEARS BY
Bedrocks Sports Hawaii REPORTER NICK ABRAMO:
>> From Nov. 22, 2014: Mililani Drops Surrealistic Prep Bomb
>> From Aug. 30, 2015: Wondering Why Scouts Don’t Flock To See McKenzie Milton
>> From Jan. 14, 2021: Santa To 3 Hawaii Reindeer — On Kyler Halvorsen, On Christian Rapis, On McKenzie Milton
>> From 2021: Judging By His Florida State Spring Game Showing, The McKenzie Milton Pat 2 Show Is Coming Soon
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