A new quarterback name has emerged for Tennessee football as the Vols look to replace Nico Iamaleava in the transfer portal.
UCLA quarterback Joey Aguilar announced intentions to enter the transfer portal on Monday afternoon a day after Iamaleava officially committed to the Bruins out of the portal. According to ESPN’s Chris Low, Aguilar is slated to talk to Tennessee later on Monday.
Aguilar is transferring away from UCLA without ever playing a snap for the Bruins. The 6-foot-3, 220-pound quarterback started for Appalachian State each of the last two seasons before entering the transfer portal.
An Antioch, California native completed 56% of his passes for 3,003 yards, 23 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. He’s also a decent runner, adding 207 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns during the 2024 season.
While his stats last season were pretty pedestrian, Aguilar’s stats were much better during the 2023 season. Aguilar completed 63.7% of his passes for 3,757 yards, 33 touchdowns and 10 interceptions during his first season at Appalachian State. He added 249 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns.
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Prior to his time at Appalachian State, Aguilar played two seasons at Diablo Valley Community College in California. It’s unclear how many years of eligibility has remaining due to his junior college seasons and the fallout of the Diego Pavia case.
Tennessee is looking for a potential starting quarterback in the portal after Iamaleava left the Volunteer program earlier this month. Iamaleava completed 64% of his passes for 2,616 yards, 19 touchdowns and five interceptions during the 2024 season.
A former five-star recruit, Iamaleava spent two years at Tennessee and one season as the starting quarterback. Led by a stout defense and strong running game, Tennessee went 10-3 (6-2 SEC) in Iamaleava’s lone season as starting quarterback. The Vols made the 12-team College Football Playoff before losing in the first round at Ohio State.
Most reports indicated that the desire to make more money was the key reason Iamaleava’s camp was looking for other options. The Iamaleava camp has claimed that it was Tennessee’s offensive system, which they ran when he committed to the Vols in March 2022, that led him to leaving.
