Mililani quarterback McKenzie Milton decommits from UH
STAR-ADVERTISER / NOV. 6, 2015
Mililani’s McKenzie Milton passed against the Hilo Vikings during the first half of a quarterfinal playoff game at Aloha Stadium in Halawa.
Mililani senior McKenzie Milton announced on Twitter Wednesday that he has decommitted from Hawaii and will instead sign with Central Florida.
“After a long tough process I’ve found in my heart that is best for me to decommit from UH,” Milton wrote on Twitter. “This fall I will be attending The University of Central Florida! Thank you for all the love and support God bless!”
Milton was the 2014 Honolulu Star-Advertiser offensive player of the year after leading the Trojans to their first state title. He dealt with a shoulder injury for much of his senior year yet still made the all-state second team.
Milton finished his career third all time with 7,303 passing yards, throwing for 81 touchdowns while completing 65.5 percent (512-for-782) of his passes in 34 games. He also rushed for 1,810 yards and 18 touchdowns.
138 responses to “Mililani quarterback McKenzie Milton decommits from UH”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Good luck .
Milton is a fine young man. He was far better than what Punahou or Saint Louis with their pro programs put on the field. I am glad he will get a fresh look at another place. Local players and students in general need to get out of here and experience new things. It raises expectations.
Why are you commenting? You have repeatedly stated how much you dislike sports.
I was asked to comment. I have nothing against football but it should not distract the UH from its academic mission.
Why do you even acknowledge ANY comment by “allie”? Let the old bag be.
Asked by who? You’re always saying negative things about Hawaii, why are you still here?
please explain clearly: what do you mean you were “asked” to comment?
most people would beg her not to comment
Obviously allie is not local it shows in her comments. These are the type of comments you’d expect to see on the mainland.
North Dakota is on the mainland. We Mandans always speak clearly and truthfully.
Lying everyday must be exhausting eh old man? Are you that ******** bored? How do you now he’s a fine young man, because someone told you? The Miltons are family friends, so I’ll ask Kenzie if he knows someone under your bs facade. Did the Milton’s ask you to comment? The walls are closing in aren’t they? go away already
Rolo must have told him to “look around. “
Perhaps Milton was not in the future plans of Coach Rolo. If this was indeed the case, I think Coach Rolo made a grave mistake. Good luck, McKensie
I doubt Rolo told him to “look around”. This kid just went back on his word. What does that say about his character?
Unless you know all the details, you have absolutely nothing to comment on. The commitment was to the UH football program which was in place at the time. That program with it’s coaching staff is no longer there. This why they allow athletes that have signed a formal letter of intent to change their minds if the coaching staff changes between the time they sign and the start of the season. I know this is true for some sports but I am not sure it is across the board.
agree..I am glad he is getting out. He deserves better.
I his decision reflects nothing about his character; he is making decision affecting the entire course of his life. UH, its fans, regents, etc., will not be there 15 years from now when the young man lives with the fruit of his decision.
I agree too…. not reflection of his character… rather society. No different to commitment in marriage. Commitment now days has no real value. That’s why there is so much more divorces now days versus many decades ago. Through time… the word commitment evolved to “Try to” or “Try my best to” with no consequence.
Well at least he didn’t get to play for Chow’s team it would’ve really make him wonder if he should have gone to play for a different university. Lucky for him.
I would agree with you if he went to a better school, but Central Florida? Sure sounds like Rolo told him he was looking in another direction so the kid hand to find another place to play. BTW verbal commitments are ALL non binding,. The student athletes are being pulled by different schools, family, friends and coaches. It’s no wonder that recruits decommit. Until signing day they can change their mind, it’s ok if they do. Heck these are 17 year old kids making a tough life decision.
why do people have to second guess what he does anyway. the kid is doing what he feels is right for him and his future in life. good for him. just give him your best wishes and wish him well.
Totally agree.
agree. Milton is a fine young man. A cut above the usual traveling athlete for hire. He owes nothing to the fans or to public entertainment. UH’s mission is academics first. Football is an expensive distraction.
Do you think Tui Tuileta coming back home had something to do with it? Maybe he’s thinking he’ll have a better shot of starting sooner at another college. I don’t blame him, but I’m sad to hear the news.
Looks like grades may have been an issue
He based his decision on the OC. If Rolo had committed to running the offense and calling the plays, he might’ve stayed. Instead, Rolo is saying he won’t control the OC and won’t call plays, maybe because he was overly controlled when he was an OC in Vegas. Our new OC has no experience as OC in FBS, no one really knows if his offense will work at the FBS level, so I am not that surprised with the decommit.
so when a player decommits from UCLA or Cal or Washington and plays for Hawaii, will you say there is something wrong with his character or will you applaud him for coming to Hawaii. This young man has to think of his own future, not your wishes.
Maybe Milton got wind that Tagovailoa is committing to UH next year and he figured he’d be sitting behind Tago.
Kid is fast, very accurate passer. Limited arm strength and small for D1 football. Definitely would get killed in D1 as a run/pass threat that Rolo is looking for. Best of luck to him in Florida.
Rolo now has Tuileta at QB. My opinion, he probably told Milton to look elsewhere. If true, I wish he hadn’t. Milton is a great kid and a great QB. Wish we all knew the true story of this.
Sorry but Tuileta will not be a starter and not the main threat to Milton.
Wish him the best!
Maybe he will back home in a couple of years. June Jones may be the QB coach at Hawaii by then.
no hon…jj is done
Meh….He found out that Rolo can see right through to his weaknesses and he would have lost playing time. Good Luck in Florida!
Oh boy, I really wanted to see how he would do at UH. Well, whatever. Best of luck to him at Central Florida.
would have loved to see him play for UH. bummers. wonder why he changed his mind.
Rolo got a recent commitment from QB Davine Tullis and has two additional QB offers – Tevaka Tuioti and Eric Barriere. If either or both should accept UH’s offer, the QB position would have been crowded. This may explain why McKenzie decided to go elsewhere.
I agree. As a freshman, Milton would probably not see much playing time,
It seems that Rolo is taking a page out of JJ’s playbook – you can never have too many QBs. Didn’t JJ carry something like 8 QBs on scholarship? We saw what happened when Chow only carried 3 or 4 and the first guy didn’t work out under game conditions. There was no one else to turn to.
I used to think that too, but when I checked, I found out it actually was McMackin that had 8 or 9 QBs on roster. In 2010 he had 1.Greg Alexander 2.Bryant Moniz 3 Brent Rausch 4.Shane Austin 5.Corey Nielsen 6.David Graves 7.Cayman Shutter 8.Inoke Funaki and 9.Kevin Spain
Chow didn’t recruit well at all. Robo needs to put his greatest focus in this area. I agree. The more QBs the better.
Best wishes to Milton. UCF’s new HC is going to be the former Oregon Ducks OC Scott Frost, and Frost sees Milton as the key to his offense. This is a huge loss to the ‘Bows. I don’t know the circumstances, but I can only hope that Milton’s decision wasn’t based on discouraging words from Rollo or his staff. However, if his decision was in any way influenced by Hawaii coaches, then I think we’re going to regret this loss. Frost is getting a winner. Now it remains to be seen if Milton’s Mililani teammate Timoteo will decommit, too, and follow him.
Why should he, he has a better chance of having more playing time than Milton. Milton did the best thing for himself.
huge loss?..he wouldn’t have even had playing time..this kid is so fragile and prone to getting hurt from the bigger college kids
True..I thought he made a rushed mistake in deciding to go the UH. He has the chance to experience the bigger and more important world of the mainland. I advise all local players to go to mainland or international universities so they develop and mature intellectually.
“…more important world of the mainland.” And you are here because…..?
Even responding to any comments by the old bag shows you care. You don’t, right?
I aM here on tribal scholarships from North Dakota. This is my new experience. But I get to go home when my time has been served.
The “tribal” scholarship was just a lure to get you out of North Dakota. They’re not taking you back. Big bummers for us. Same thing like when the mainland sends their homeless here on one-way tickets. Hawaii is the victim once again.
He will be attending a school that is lower-ranked than UH academically (#168 in the UHN&WR national university ratings versus #161 for UH), on a campus with 60,000 students (not particularly conducive to personalized attention), in the “bigger and more important world” of central Florida which is dominated by theme parks. The team he is joining went 0-13 last season and belongs to a conference (the AAC) that is no more prominent than the one UH belongs to (the MWC). He will never play a conference game west of Dallas so his family will rarely if ever get to see him compete in person. The most likely explanation for his change of heart is that he has a greater desire to play for Scott Frost than for Nick Rolovich. If so I respect his decision, but it’s always a little risky to base one’s choice of school primarily on a relationship with a coach, who could leave or be fired long before the student-athlete completes his education.
Is that why you went to UH Al? Oh yeah, that’s right, volleyball scholarship.
Rolo is off to a bad start. Rolo might want to avoid ordering chow fun take out for a while
Why is it Rolo’s fault he didn’t decommit.
How is he off to a bad start? He is assembling what looks like a very good staff and he is akamie enough to get the players that he needs to run his sort of offense. Honestly I dont think this kid has what it takes to make that happen for Rolo. Good luck to him and hope he makes the right choices!
inverse – this is a dumb comment – shoulda kept it to yourself!!
Milton is ‘homegrown’ in Hawaii and that counts for something. Just ask Shoji about that when he recruits. Also this kid is not as big as other quarterbacks, however he has the potential to be another Doug Flutie type who did quite well on the Div1A college level and even had a brief stint in the NFL. As seen in the NFL ‘running’ quarterback like RG3 or even Mariotta do no last long as the defense will attempt to legally hurt any quarterback that becomes a runner and loses the rules for protection of a passing quarterback. UH could use a a really accurate passer and does UH under Rolo have a whole bunch of super accurate passers right now?
You’re an idiot. It’s months before the season starts. Let Rolo do his job and you can evaluate after the season is over.
Yes, after Rolo’s first season is over, we will find out who is the I di ot on this discussion board.
Weren’t you the biggest cheerleader when Rolo was hired? I didn’t. DM hiring Rolo with no HC experience was a big mistake and his second mistake was promoting AP as an AAD.
NO, I thought it was best if Maitlin could somehow get JJ, Miano and Rolo TOGETHER to coach after Chow. I agree with you 100% that Rolo has zero HC experience and is not connected to the American Samoan community like JJ and Miano. Also JJ and Miano both have NFL heritage and connections and that means a lot to incoming blue chip players who aspire to play in the NFL after college. Also JJ and Miano make enemies but people who lead and are not afraid to make difficult decisions that achieve success but P O other poeple are often not popular but are the best to put in charge. You cannot control people like that and unfortunately UH is now choosing leaders that they can control. Unfortunately those that cause the most animosity and problems are also the same ones to achieve the highest levels of success.
You’re jumping to conclusions far too early. Unless you are the all-knowing God, give Rolo a chance at least. Rolo isn’t even out of the starting gate yet and you already think he’s a failure. He just might pleasantly surprise you. Remember all head coaches started without any head coaching experience. But hey, if he ends up failing then be all means go ahead and criticize. And for what it’s worth, I wanted the same trio of coaches as you but just because it didn’t happen I’m not prematurely judging Maitlin’s decision.
Just too many qbs on roster and future roster. Would really be hard to find playing time. Just hope one of those guys we have or going to have can play the style rolo wants.
Directly related to Rolo and his lack of vision, leadership and communication with Milton.
More like a kid who goes back on his word. Nothing he says can be believed anymore.
keep going oiwi. you’re making yourself look like an idiot
i’m not the idiot here. you give your word..you stick to it. only an idiot doesn’t.
i’n not the one that looks like the idiot.
no oiwi, if you look and talk like one you are an idiot. congratulations.
cholo. you need to grow some.
cholo you are a true fumb duck.
you think if you keep repeating to yourself you’re not an idiot that it makes it true? no, but keep repeating it anyways. it’s what idiots do.
So oiwi, you’ve NEVER changed your mind about something? Do you have kids? If so, have they EVER gone back on their word? Probably. Give this kid a break.
No. No and No. i’m old school, you give your word you keep it. Easy way to not mess up, don’t make commitments that you won’t keep. He committed to Chow, reinforced his commitment to Rolo. But obviously wasn’t sure if that’s what he really wanted because he continue to shop himself around for other options. Should have never made a commitment (or re-commitment).
And you are a big, fat liar as well. The more you open your mouth the more disgusting of a person we know you are. Stop it already.
cholo. what am i lying about? you don’t know squat about me. you are the BFL.
sorry oiwi, hate to break the news to you. yes, you are a big, fat liar, an idiot and a hypocrite as well who is obviously in severe denial. and i think everyone here is more than happy that we don’t know anymore about you than you unfortunately cared to share with us already.
cholo. you have some serious issues. you need to get a life. you must be such a sad person to be around. i suggest you seek some professional help for your problems. you are obviously the biggest fat lying idiot on the planet. now go crawl back under your rock and shut your fave already. nobody cares about you. not even your family.
And you know this how? You related to Milton or were on his advisory staff?
Hawaii’s sideline QB’s are once again providing their opinions without any factual information as to why Milton decommitted to UH.
Does it really matter or will it have an affect on the public or UH? No!! I would think that McKenzie and his parents are happy with the decision and that should be the main concern and not anybody’s business. UH’s football program will move on without Milton and everyone should wish him the best at Central Florida. One thing for sure, Milton will grow up really fast and be exposed to big time college football. Good luck!
Totally agree with your comments, especially with your last two sentences.
Besides winning, appearance is everything and having ‘homegrown’ players can be just as important in getting fan loyalty and support. Shoji keeps that in mind when he recruits. Also many Hawaii fans will be completely P O’d if Milton does well in Florida, just like how Mariotta was passed over at UH and then blossomed at Oregon.
thank you kahuku
Smartest move he made for himself..good luck in Florida.
Best of luck to Mackenzie Milton. Great facilities at UCF. Up and coming program with a young, new HC in Oregon’s Scott Frost. These things happen, and UH just needs to move on.
Best of luck to Mackenzie Milton. Great facilities at UCF. Up and coming program with a young, new HC in Oregon’s Scott Frost. These things happen, and UH just needs to move on.
Central Florida was 0-12 last year. Chance for e rebuild…
NFL QB Dante Culpepper played for UCF and they even came here to play Hawaii.
Good luck in your future, McKenzie.
Hawaii has always made their doors open to those who choose to go away and wanted to come back. Best of luck to Milton.
I wouldn’t want him back. He doesn’t keep his word. No integrity.
Sounds like the parent of a player that was always behind Milton when it came to playing time.
definitely some sour grapes here
not a parent of any kid that played behind this kid. just stating a fact. why would you want a player that doesn’t keep his word?
no sour grapes here yoboboy. just stating a fact. why would you want that as part of your team? “oh yeah coach, i’ll be at practice tomorrow. oh wait, on second thought i change my mind”
The University didn’t keep their word by changing the staff (long time coming). His decision was made in part by who the staff was going to be.
iwandcah. you are correct, however he re-committed after the coaching change was made. so he knew what he was getting & still committed.
What about the Punahou kid who played UH on signing day? He coming back. What about that kid’s integrity? Man, I did a lot of crazy stuff when I was 18, it just wasn’t in the public eye. You have kids? They do crazy stuff. Love ’em and forgive. And the thing about the Punahou sole QB coming back from USC is, he’s actually a much better prospect than Milton. Better arm strength, stronger.
I heard through the grapevine that his Tuileta’s favorite receiver Kanawai Noa wants to come home to Hawaii too.
but see, its okay if they leave another school and come back to Hawaii- no one will complain about their integrity.
You mean like K Jason Elam?
Odd that a story like this only gets a “Star-Advertiser staff” byline.
McKenzie Who?
Would’ve been fun to watch you and Timoteo .. Good luck to you McKenzie!
Didn’t he commit to Coach Chow?
Yes Coach Chow offered him a job in his flower shop.
He has a new career in acting.
Best comment of the thread. Lol
What a firestorm this article has created.
As a pansy!
Would have loved to see him play for UH. From what I’ve seen on his interviews, he’s a great young man with character and humility. Best of luck to McKenzie, make the 808 proud. We’ll be watching
Good luck to a young man who was just praised by his Coach, who is a former Division 1 football player himself! Have heard nothing but great praise about him ever since he came in the spotlight his Sophomore season. Hopefully there are more positive comments than negative on this thread, which I’m not going to take the time to read, but he and his family have been die hard UH fans since he was born so whatever made him come to this decision, i’m sure it’s a good reason and I for one wish him the best! I’m sure people bad-mouthed Kurt Gouveia when he opted with BYU, Chris Naeole when we chose Colorado, Larry Tuileta when he signed with USC, and even Manti Teo when he chose ND. Bottom line is, you will always call them “our own” and hopefully we can all just wish this kid the best and if it’s ever in the cards for him to come back and play in front of family and friends, so be it! Durn burn our bridges Warrior Faithful! Spread the Aloha! Go Warriors and Defend #PRIDEROCK with Aloha!
Ditto that.
And Dick Tomey is still kicking himself to this day.
Sitting on the bench here with a chance of playing front of family and friends is way better than on a bench in Florida. Never thought highly of him. Reminds me of Manley.
Words of a true wanna-be
Sitting on the bench here with a chance of playing front of family and friends is way better than on a bench in Florida. Never thought highly of him. Reminds me of Manley.
truth
Sounds like someone who has a lot of experience “sitting on the bench.”
the tawlet maybe but not the bench.
Well, who really knows what his future will be? He might have been a star at UH, and might still be a star at UCF. My only thing is the use of the word COMMIT and why athletes even do so before even graduating from high school, not just Milton. The definition of COMMIT is to BIND or PROMISE, like the COMMITment you make to your significant other when you marry. Maybe another less strong word should be used such as INTENTION.
they are not legally bound until they sign their Letter of Intent. like colleges that should honor all their offers, but then change their minds, pull scholarships or over recruit in a position, an athlete who commits should be honorable but he has to to what is best for his future.
Wonder iIf Central Florida was his only other choice? Were other schools, especially in the Pac 12, interested? If not, maybe he was overhyped.
no one hyped him as a Pac12, only one program there like dhim but no one offered him. Hes a mid major and he’s going to a mid major. Not as if UH is anywhere near a Pac12, its a bottom feeding mid major. However, with Rolo in charge hopefully we see that ranking to way up.
Sorry to see him go, watched him for 3 years totally dominate on the field. This is a loos for UH.
It has been no secret that Oregon and Frost(OC) were close to offering McKenzie and still might have
if Frost remained at Oregon. Instead he is the new Head coach at UCF and he has his guy McKenzie Milton
to run his show. Good luck to Milton, all you did in Hawaii High school was dominate.
Good luck young man! Florida is a fun place to be. You can road trip to the left to the Gulf States all the way to Orleans or take a right to the East Coast. You got Disneyworld, Epcot center, Cape Canaveral, JFK……Braddah is going to have fun!
I don’t think he would have fit in with the Bow’s. He probably would be better off at UCF also rebuilding. I also think they offer better scholarships to athletes.
He is going to Central Florida where former University of Oregon Offensive Coordinator is now the head coach. Scott Frost is an up and coming coach. They probably play better ball than UH right now.
Why is this a headline?
He’s going to Central Florida, anybody check their past record? They need more than a quarterback with a week arm and accident prone.
Maybe he chose UCF after visiting it because of the school. Yes, remember these football players are also going to school. The way most schools operate on the mainland put UH to shame. Things are efficient and geared toward the students, not the workers. Makes a huge difference in the college experience.
agree
He’ll e fine wherever he goes. He a good young man.
At least he won’t be gong to N. Dakota and be playing for the N. Dakota University Hekawi’s lol
I never hang my hat on verbal commitments. With that said, I see nothing wrong with him changing his mind because nothing was signed. Until a player signs on the line, anything can happen. Good luck to Milton. He had a great run in Hawaii football.
Even after the letter of intent is signed, you are not obligated to abide by it if the coaching staff you signed with is no longer there. When you commit to a team, its the whole package. If the staff leaves or is fired, they have not held up their side of the agreement.
This kid is not a D1 QB. It would appear that Rolo told him to look around
That is what they said about Mariotta after he finished high school at St Louis. Time will tell with Milton.
Who said that about Mariota? You just making that stuff up. He was on Oregon’s radar all along. If you referring to UH and Chow, well, you see ow that went AND ended!!
He’ll be back 🙂