With Tennessee searching for a veteran quarterback in the wake of Nico Iamaleava’s departure from the program in April, head coach Josh Heupel landed on former Appalachian State quarterback Joey Aguilar out of the transfer portal.
Aguilar played his 2023 and 2024 seasons with the Mountaineers and transferred to UCLA this past December. But with Iamaleava making the move to the Bruins in April, Aguilar decided to look elsewhere for his final collegiate season despite having gone through spring camp with UCLA.
Tennessee and Aguilar met in the middle, and the transfer quarterback officially announced his commitment to the Volunteers last Tuesday.
“I’m ready to get to work, compete at the highest level and build something special with my coaches and teammates,” Aguilar posted in a lengthy social media message.
In the days following Aguilar’s commitment, the Tennessee coaching staff and prominent members of Tennessee Athletics, such as AD Danny White and Voice of the Vols Mike White, went on the three-day Big Orange Caravan tour on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.
While speaking to the media at the Memphis stop, Heupel gave his thoughts on what the Vols are getting with Aguilar at quarterback.
“First of all, he has starts,” Heupel said via WATE’s Reece Van Haaften on X. “He’s played at a high level. Close to 7,000 yards passing. 24 career starts, I think. He’s got the ability to throw the ball vertically. He’s accurate and on time in the intermediate passing game. (He) has the ability to use his feet to extend plays, but you can use him in the quarterback run game, too.”
Josh Heupel on Joey Aguilar:
“He has the ability to throw the ball vertically. He’s accurate and on time in the intermediate passing game. (He) has the ability to use his feet to extend plays, but you can use him in the quarterback run game, too.” #Vols pic.twitter.com/DiZGMa0tDx
— Reece Van Haaften (@Reece_VH) April 30, 2025
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Heupel didn’t need too many words to say a good amount in one short response.
Heupel’s initial comment on the number of starts that Aguilar has is key because it confirms what we figured (and what was reported) with Tennessee’s interests in the transfer portal. After Nico Iamaleava’s departure, Tennessee was left with two quarterbacks in rising redshirt freshman Jake Merklinger and rising true freshman George MacIntyre. Talented players, but with very little experience. Merklinger had just nine passing attempts during his first season in Knoxville.
Aguilar’s arrival in Knoxville won’t guarantee him a starting job as he’ll battle with Merklinger and MacIntyre this fall. But he does give Tennessee some much-needed veteran experience in a very young QB room.
Heupel is correct; Aguilar started 24 games in two seasons at App State, with 13 in 2023 and 11 in 2024. In those two seasons, the California native passed for 6,760 yards while throwing 56 touchdowns to 24 interceptions. Aguilar’s numbers clearly stand out, especially with the passing yards, but his numbers did take a hit from 2023 to 2024. Perhaps being in a room with QB coach Joey Halzle and Heupel will help Aguilar return to his 2023 form, where he threw 3,757 yards, 33 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions.
Heupel has always been selective with his words to the media, but it isn’t surprising to see him comment on the deep and intermediate passing game, considering it was a big talking point during spring camp. No matter the quarterback behind center, Tennessee wants to be able to hit more big plays this fall.
“The main thing we took away was we left a lot out there on the field,” Joey Halzle said this spring about Tennessee’s self-scouting from the 2024 season. “We had a lot of opportunities to go make big plays and for whatever reason – from us on the sideline to the guys on the field – that didn’t fall that way. That’s a big part of what we’ve talked about is hitting those big crossing rounds at a high clip.”
And, naturally, being able to extend plays is a standard evolution of the quarterback position at the collegiate level. Aguilar averaged 228 yards rushing per season at App State and scored five times on the ground.
We’ll hear much more from Heupel as the summer rolls into training camp this fall. While it may not have been expected, a quarterback battle in Knoxville will certainly have the media’s attention on Rocky Top as fans take in every practice highlight, press conference, and bold prediction.
Stay tuned to Rocky Top Insider for more Tennessee Football offseason coverage.
