New Tennessee QB getting praise after unprecedented offseason

Joey Aguilar was in an interesting position when he transferred from UCLA to Tennessee after spring practices had already concluded.

He was expecting to be UCLA’s starting quarterback in 2025. That’s why he transferred from Appalachian State to Southern California. What he didn’t expect was a falling-out between Tennessee and the Vols’ former starting quarterback, Nico Iamaleava.

Iamaleava transferred out of Tennessee and wound up at UCLA, which forced Aguilar to hit the road, and he wound up at Rocky Top.

It was a wild situation, and Aguilar came to Tennessee a bit behind the eight ball, but head coach Josh Heupel recently revealed that he had an idea that the former Appalachian State quarterback would be a good fit from the get-go.

There was a moment where he just knew it.

“I think the maturity that he demonstrated on the phone, as you get a chance to go through his history, what matters to him and what he’s looking for, what he cares about, fit the culture piece of it,” Heupel explained
(h/t On3). “Obviously, studied the film as well. So I felt like it had a chance to be a really good fit at that point.”

Aguilar has the potential to be a star for Tennessee. He threw for 6,760 yards and 56 touchdowns over the past two seasons at Appalachian State while also rushing for 456 yards and five touchdowns.

Aguilar started 24 games at the FBS level and owns six single-season records at App State. He was an All-Sun Belt honorable mention in 2024 and the 2023 Cure Bowl MVP.

The tough part is now, Aguilar has to transition to playing SEC ball at the highest level. He’s also had to quickly pick up Tennessee’s offense, but Heupel relayed that he’s seen massive growth in that regard.

“If you’re playing quarterback, and you’re back there thinking, you got no chance. So it’s got to become second nature. It’s got to become your primary language. And he’s worked really hard with that,” Heupel said.