Joey Aguilar is Ready to Lead the Tennessee Volunteers

Heading into the offseason, the Tennessee Volunteers were expecting quarterback Nico Iamaleava to come back for a junior season. What transpired was one of the stories of the offseason, which ended in Joey Aguilar making his way to Rocky Top.

The Transfer Portal Madness 

Iamaleava entered the transfer portal last April, which left the Vols scrambling to find another body to help fill an inexperienced quarterback room. With the only returners being redshirt freshman Jake Merklinger and incoming four-star George MacIntyre, the Vols needed an experienced mind — enter Aguilar.

Aguilar transferred to the Vols from Appalachian State but uniquely reached Rocky Top. When Aguilar initially entered the transfer portal, he committed to UCLA with the intent of becoming the starter for the Bruins. Plans changed drastically when Iamaleava returned home to UCLA. This resulted in Aguilar re-entering the portal and finding his way to the Vols.

Three-Way Quarterback Battle

Vols Head Coach Josh Heupel stated at SEC Media Days that they were holding a “three-way quarterback battle” to decide a starter. Aguilar entered the camp as the odds-on favorite to win the position; Heupel announced him as the Vols starter following the second scrimmage, later into fall camp.

One of the reasons Aguilar won the starting position was the improvement he had between the two scrimmages.

“Definitely felt more comfortable,” said Aguilar. “Going out there and running it completely live was different, running a practice is like kind of different than going to scrimmage and game-time speed. So definitely got a better grasp of it the second week of camp. I was in there spending more time in film and trying to get all the keys, details of plays and certain reads and the specifics like that.”

Learning to Lead

Aguilar also had to gain the trust of his teammates once he arrived on campus to become a starter for the Vols. He credits his upbringing for being a larger piece of that.

“I grew up working for everything that I got,” said Aguilar. “You know, my dad always told me to be grateful and to be humble. My mom as well. So coming in here, trust takes time to build. You can’t force somebody to trust you. And so, I mean, I’m just a nonchalant kind of guy. So I’m not trying to come in here and tell everybody, like, yeah, you got to trust me. I’m your guy.

So, you know, I just slowly connect with people here and there. Go grab some food, hang out, just have a conversation with everybody. Not even just like a main guy. I would say, like, you gotta build trust with every single person on your team whether they play or not. So I think my biggest key with JUCO and going to App State, connecting with those types of people and like a team quickly helped me understand how to connect with different types of people.”

What Aguilar Brings as a Player

In 2024 Aguilar posted over 3,000 passing yards and found the endzone 23 times for the App State Mountaineers. His playing experience will be invaluable as he takes the reins on offense. The Vols have a young receiving room and will need Aguilar to be a leader.

Aguilar has a great touch in attacking the middle of the field. He is consistently able to hit his receivers in stride, helping the offense gain the extra little yards. He flashes a good arm, pushing the ball vertically as well. Aguilar brings a gunslinger mentality to the quarterback position — if there is a window that he sees, he will fire the ball in there.

The high-risk style of play of his comes with turnovers, though; he threw 14 interceptions in the 2024 season. The Vols’ high-tempo offense will provide a different challenge for Aguilar. The tempo forces the quarterback to play with anticipation and accuracy, which Aguilar has been learning to adjust to.

“I would say the only thing that I really had to adjust to was just the tempo of the offense,” said Aguilar. “I was somewhat in 2023, I wouldn’t say tempo as this, but we were pretty on the ball, just not as fast. So, just getting used to getting the signal and lining up and going through my progressions was just the adjustment I had to make.”

Aguilar brings an efficient running game as a quarterback. He isn’t a quarterback coordinators are asking to carry the ball more than five times a game, but he has shown the ability to tuck it and gain yards when needed — he had 200 yards and two touchdowns in 2024. His efficiency on the ground will be utilized in Heupel’s offense.

Looking Into the Season Ahead

The Vols are coming off a college football playoff appearance where they lost to the Ohio State Buckeyes 42-17. Heading into the 2025 season, the Vols have expectations to compete for another playoff spot. Aguilar’s play will be one of the main factors that decides whether or not the Vols will have an opportunity to achieve their goals.