Joey Aguilar will begin the season as Tennessee's starting quarterback. Here's how he got here.
What was always considered the most likely outcome officially became reality on Sunday when Volquest reported that transfer Joey Aguilar will be the starting quarterback for the Vols to begin the 2025 campaign.
Six months ago, this was not even a consideration. Nico Iamaleavawas poised to be back under center for his second year as a starter and his third full year in the Tennessee system. Safe to say, expectations for the former five-star and No. 1 rated player in the country would have been sky-high coming off the program’s first ever College Football Playoff appearance in December.
But in this era of college athletics, nothing is guaranteed. Iamaleava had a very public breakup with the Vols over the course of the final days of spring practice and ended up back home with UCLA.
So, with the ‘trade’ that unfolded with the Bruins, Aguilar arrived on campus mid-May and got to work. He’s officially earned the starter nod and will lead the new-look Tennessee offense this fall.
Here’s a look at the journey for Joey Agular that has brought him to this point.
“I thought he handled himself extremely well. That’s today, but I think he’s got better, from day one up until today’s scrimmage,” Heupel said of Aguilar on Friday after the second scrimmage. “Really every single day. Comfort and control. He’s handled himself extremely well during our night walkthroughs, which is mental focus, mental sweat. And because of that, he’s extremely comfortable in what we’re doing right now.”
Freedom High School
What’s lost in translation during the ‘Joey Aguilar situation’ as Josh Heupel referred to on the Big Orange Carvan stop in Nashville this offseason, was that Aguilar was set to be back home on the west coast with UCLA after his initial transfer in December. More on that later, but his story begins at Freedom High School in Antioch, Calif. as a standout signal-caller.
As a high school junior and senior, Aguilar threw for 5,575 yards with 59 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. As a senior, the quarterback threw 32 touchdowns and 3,074 yards. Still, no big-time offers came his way, so the quarterback was off to junior college.
Diablo Valley (Junior College)
Staying on the west coast, Aguilar played two seasons at Diablo Valley from 2021-2022 and because of his time in junior college, the quarterback was granted another year of eligibility due to the Diego Pavia ruling that also impacted Tennessee tight end Miles Kitselmanand transfer running backStar Thomas.
It was a good start in 2021 for Aguilar, who was responsible for 15 touchdowns (two rushing) with six interceptions across 10 games. He threw for 1,546 yards while completing 56 percent of his passes and added an additional 261 yards on the ground.
His second season (2022), Aguilar played in just six games but upped his completion percentage to 64 percent with 1,446 passing yards, eight touchdowns and four interceptions. The quarterback also rushed for 358 yards on 65 carries, averaging nearly 60 yards on the ground per game.
Appalachian State (Sun Belt)
Aguilar burst onto the scene at the FBS level with Appalachian State in 2023 – the first time playing in this region of the United States. He ended the season as the Sun Belt Newcomer of the Year and was named Second-Team All-Conference after playing in 14 games and starting the final 13.
The quarterback broke the program’s single season record with 33 touchdown passes and single-season passing record with 3,757 yards. Aguilar also set a program record with 4,002 yards of total offense in 2023. In 12 regular season games, Aguilar trailed only Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels (LSU) and Bo Nix (Oregon) for most touchdown passes by FBS quarterbacks. He also led the country with 15 touchdown passes to either tie a game or give his team the lead. The 33 touchdown strikes was also third-most in conference single-season history.
He finished the season with 36 total touchdowns with three on the ground and was named MVP of the Cure Bowl in a win over Miami (OH). His first pass, after taking over for the injured starter in the first half of the season-opener that year, was a 32-yard touchdown. He made his first start the next week at No. 17 North Carolina, throwing for 275 yards and two touchdowns. Aguilar ended the 2023 campaign with multiple touchdown passes in all but two games.
In 2024, Aguilar was named Honorable Mention All-Sun Belt after throwing for 3,003 yards with 23 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. He added 207 rushing yards with two more scores.
Throughout his time at Appalachian State, Aguilar broke six different single-season records and registered 7,212 yards of total offense across 25 games. He ended his two-year stint with the Mountaineers ranking fifth in both program touchdown passes (56) and yards (6,760).
Aguilar enters the 2025 campaign as the FBS active career leader in total offense per game (288.5 yards) and is second in career passing yards per game (270.4 yards).
UCLA (Big 10)
Aguilar never actually suited up for the Bruins on a Saturday game day, but he did spend the spring semester at UCLA after transferring back to the west coast in December. He was brought in to be the clear-cut starting quarterback but that room looks a bit different now with no Aguilar and a pair of Iamaleavas. Though Aguilar took part in spring drills with the Bruins, things changed in a hurry.
Category: General Sports
