By: Robert Craft

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

McKenzie Milton had quite the college football journey. After breaking out at UCF, Milton suffered a gruesome leg injury and was thought to be in danger of never playing again.

However, he recovered and ended up transferring to Florida State, playing the 2021 season.

Milton had a unique helmet for the Hula Bowl, a postseason college football all-star game. Ironically, it is held in Orlando, Florida, home of the UCF Knights. Milton debuted his helmet, sporting both the UCF and Florida State logo on each side. As far as Milton’s future in football, he said he was holding out hope to make it in the NFL.

“Honestly I have no idea,” Milton told reporters when asked what is next for him. “To me, I shoot for the NFL. Hoping that opportunity will come, but we’ll see. It just depends..”

Later the reporter asked if a coaching career is in his future, Milton said his current focus is on playing at the next level, though he does anticipate entering the coaching industry when the time comes for him to hang up his cleats.

In total, Milton finished his college career with 9,458 yards, 75 touchdowns, 28 interceptions, a 61.3% completion percentage, 1,065 rushing yards and 20 rushing touchdowns.

He led the Knights to a 27-6 record as a starter, including an undefeated 2017 season, and two American Athletic Conference championships.

The Hawaiian high school star suffered a catastrophic knee injury during the regular-season finale in 2018 which forced him to miss the 2019 and 2020 seasons.

After multiple surgeries and several years of rehabilitation, Milton took over as quarterback for UCF’s scout team.

After graduating from UCF and completing a long road to recovery, Milton transferred to Florida State to close out his college campaign. Appearing in 6 games for the Seminoles, Milton threw for 775 yards and 3 touchdowns to go along with 6 interceptions while making 4 starts.

Milton was named the ACC’s Brian Piccolo Award winner, which honors the league’s ‘most courageous’ football player and is named for the former Wake Forest and Chicago Bears running back.

Florida State quarterback McKenzie Milton capped off a stellar college career by being named one of three winners of the 2021 Mayo Clinic Comeback Player of the Year Award on Tuesday.

Milton’s focus is now on the future, particularly one in the NFL, as he looks to make an impression on some of the 100 scouts on hand for this week’s game.

“You’ve just got to go out there and be yourself,” Milton said. “Perform as if thousands of people are watching, which is how it is in the game. So, it’s nothing different. “Everything you put on film is your job interview as well. So, it’s just trying to maximize every rep, even when I’m not in there, get mental reps, too. But it’s been a good learning experience for sure.”

Milton has no idea what’s in store for him, but he plans to participate in FSU’s Pro Day and possibly one at UCF. “I’m just hoping that opportunity comes,” he said. “It just depends on if it’s right for me and if it’s right for my family, so we’ll see.”

McKenzie Milton will be finishing his college football career where it all began: the Bounce House.