Much like the message that the Tennessee football program sent in mid April, Josh Heupel is moving on from the Nico Iamaleava situation that unfolded this spring.
In fact, Heupel wants to reverse the narrative on the way it’s being talked about.
“Let’s start calling it the Joey Aguilar situation,” Heupel said in an interview this week.
Heupel’s comments came during an appearance on 104.5 The Zone’s 3HL program alongside Brent Dougherty and VFL Ron Slay on Wednesday in Nashville.
“The Nico Iamaleava situation, I’m just curious, from your point of view in today’s world of college football, with all the transition and everything, how surprised were you with the way that all played out and that he’s no longer on that roster?” Dougherty asked the Vols’ coach.
“Well, let’s start calling it the Joey Aguilar situation,” Heupel said. “End of the day, that’s just the landscape. You’re not going to keep everybody. Got opportunities to put your roster together. Feel like we’ve got a team that’s accountable, connected, works hard, competes hard. We’re built to win. Now we’ve got to go earn it every single day. We’ve got some new pieces that we’ve got to get onboarded here in the course of May; that’s the nature of college football. We’ll get ready, keep competing, and keep growing.”
“Let’s start calling it the Joey Aguilar situation.”
Tennessee football coach Josh Heupel told @3HL1045 that the Vols are “built to win” as they transition at quarterback for the 2025 season. pic.twitter.com/rAyS0muXIJ
— Josh Ward (@Josh_Ward) May 1, 2025
More From RTI: New Vols QB Joey Aguilar Pens Message on Social Media During Commitment
Heupel’s message is clear. The players who left the program are gone, and the ones who are there are there. Those are the players that it’s all about.
One of those incoming additions is quarterback Joey Aguilar, whom Heupel referred to in direct reference to the Iamaleava question. Aguilar, a former quarterback at Appalachian State, officially announced his commitment to Tennessee this past Tuesday. Aguilar transferred from App State to UCLA in December and spent the spring with the Bruins, but Iamaleava’s arrival pushed him to seek a new location for his final season of eligibility in the spring portal. With Aguilar needing a new home and Tennessee looking for a veteran quarterback, the two sides were able to meet in the middle.
Heupel expressed appreciation for Iamaleava’s work and play in Knoxville during his spring game press conference after the decision had been made to move on. While that was just a few weeks ago, Heupel is ready to reverse the narrative around Iamaleava’s departure and put the attention on a quarterback who will be wearing orange this fall.
Aguilar’s arrival to Tennessee won’t guarantee him the starting job. He’ll battle with redshirt freshman Jake Merklinger and true freshman George MacIntyre for the starting position this fall. Merklinger was on the roster last season but only had minimal experience, throwing for 48 yards on 6-of-9 passing.
Prior to his UCLA transfer, Aguilar played two seasons at Appalachian State and threw for 6,760 passing yards, 56 passing touchdowns, and 24 interceptions. The 6-foot-3 quarterback’s numbers did drop from 2023 to 2024 but he’ll have a chance to work with Josh Heupel and his offense in Knoxville.
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Check out the full podcast episode from 104.5’s 3HL show here.
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Go VOLS!