Former UCF quarterback McKenzie Milton will continue his football career at Florida State, taking the next step in his remarkable recovering from a catastrophic knee injury in Tallahassee.
The redshirt senior announced his decision on Twitter, posting a photo of himself in a Seminoles uniform with the state, “Committed” Sunday afternoon.
He added in an Instagram post, “This story written in Braille .. you gotta feel it to understand. ... #nextchapter”
Milton told the Orlando Sentinel he was happy to play for first-year FSU coach Mike Norvell, who previously faced the quarterback he was the coaching Memphis. Milton won every matchup, giving Norvell a close-up look at what the quarterback can do when he’s at full strength.
“I’m so excited and fired up,” Milton said. “I feel like this is a great fit. I really like Coach Norvell. When I was at UCF and we played against his teams at Memphis, I thought he was a great coach and I’m looking forward to playing in his offense.”
Milton first shared he planned to leave UCF as a graduate transfer on Dec. 3, explaining he wanted to find another team where he had the best chance to earn a starting quarterback job rather than competing with best friend and entrenched Knights starter Dillon Gabriel.
“It’s been something I’ve been thinking about since the beginning of the season — because I knew I was on track to be able to play again,” Milton said in a video released by UCF. “I came to Coach [Josh] Heupel during the bye week in November — I didn’t want to blindside him at the end of the season. With the trajectory of our team, Dillon has earned the right to be our quarterback. And yet I have one shot to chase a dream.”
Milton spent four seasons with the Knights, leading the team to a perfect season in 2017 capped by a win over Auburn in the Peach Bowl. The following year, he led the team to a 10-0 record before suffering a gruesome knee injury during the regular-season finale against USF.
He was transported to Tampa General Hospital, where he had surgery to repair damaged nerves and restore blood flow to his lower right leg. The injury nearly forced doctors to amputate his leg.
Milton went through multiple surgeries and one doctor told him 50% of people who suffer the same injury usually have to have the leg amputated because the artery has been too damaged or severed and it’s too late to get the blood flow back to the leg.
He spent the next two years working to get back on the football field, enduring several more surgeries and countless hours of physical rehabilitation before receiving clearance from his doctors at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota in August to return to practice.
He took over as quarterback for the UCF scout team before announcing his decision to transfer.
Milton’s name dots the UCF record books, with the redshirt senior ranked fourth in school history with 8,683 passing yards and 72 passing touchdowns. He’s third all-time in total offense with 9,761 yards.
“There are definitely offensive systems I feel I could flourish in,” Milton said during a recent interview with UCF radio voice Marc Daniels and Sentinel columnist Mike Bianchi on 96.9-FM.
“I love what we’ve done with both staffs [Frost and Heupel] at UCF. I’m looking at places with a good offensive line that can protect and a good culture and, obviously, I want to win. All that plays into it, but I’m going to respect and listen to every coach who reaches out to me. I love playing in the warm weather, but I know if I want to play in the NFL, you have to play in some cold-weather games. So that’s not really the deciding factor.”
Norvell knows exactly what he’s getting with Milton.
As the head coach at Memphis, Norvell’s Tigers were winless against the Milton and the Knights in three meetings, including the 2017 American Athletic Conference Championship. During those three games, Milton accounted for 1,188 yards and 10 touchdowns.
The Seminoles are 3-6 this season with a game against Wake Forest next Saturday.
Milton joins an FSU roster that’s lacked stability at quarterback. Redshirt sophomore Jordan Travis started six games this season, while highly touted freshmen Tate Rodemaker and Chubba Purdy started one game apiece.
