Courtesy / UT Athletics
The National Football League announced Tuesday that Tennessee football standouts Joe Milton III, Jaylen Wright and Kamal Hadden each received invitations to the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine, which will take place in Indianapolis from Feb. 26 through March 4.
A total of 321 prospects have been invited to attend the 2024 NFL Combine, including 75 from the Southeastern Conference. Live coverage of this year’s event begins Thursday, Feb. 29, on NFL Network and NFL+.
Milton is coming off the most productive season of his college career after starting all 12 regular season games and completing 229-of-354 (.647) passes for 2,813 yards with 20 touchdowns and five interceptions. The quarterback from Pahokee, Florida, also showcased his mobility throughout the year with a career-best 299 rushing yards and seven rushing touchdowns, which were the most by a Vol quarterback in a single campaign since Joshua Dobbs had 12 in 2016. Milton finished the 2023 season with 3,112 yards of total offense, representing the eighth-best total in school history and the third straight season a UT quarterback has eclipsed the 3,000-yard mark.
One the nation’s top running back prospects and an Associated Press All-SEC selection this past season, Wright produced one of the most dynamic running back seasons in UT history in 2023. He started all 12 regular season games, setting career bests in rushing yards (1,013), yards per attempt (7.39) and yards per game (84.4) on 137 carries. His 7.39 yards per carry led all FBS running backs (min. 120 attempts) and was second among all FBS players. That figure also ranked second in UT single-season history (min. 100 attempts) behind only Hank Lauricella’s 7.94 in 1951. The Durham, North Carolina, native finished the year producing six 100-yard rushing games and became the Vols’ first 1,000-yard rusher in a season since 2015.
Hadden developed into a lockdown cornerback and was outstanding in his final season with the Vols in 2023, leading the team with three interceptions and eight pass breakups. His 11 passes defended were tied for fourth in the SEC despite missing the final six games of the season due to injury. The River Rouge, Michigan, native did not allow a touchdown pass the entire season, and his PFF defensive coverage grade of 90.4 was second-best among SEC cornerbacks and fifth in the nation in 2023. According to PFF, his allowed passer rating of 7.0 was the lowest by any player in the 2024 Draft class.
The three Tennessee representatives will seek to improve their resumes at the Combine ahead of the 2024 NFL Draft, set for April 25-27 in Detroit, Michigan.
