Tennessee quarterback Joey Aguilar threw for 247 yards and three touchdowns en route to a 45-26 win over Syracuse in the season-opening game on Saturday afternoon in Atlanta, GA. He was impressive in his debut for the Big Orange, with his biggest play coming on a 73-yard touchdown bomb to redshirt freshman wide receiver Braylon Staley in the second quarter.
Aguilar also connected with running back Star Thomas for a touchdown on a broken play coming out of the halftime break.
Tennessee’s defense also stepped up and made some big plays, too. Former Colorado CB Colton Hood had a scoop-and-score touchdown while safety Jalen McMurray was all over the Orange’s passing game from the secondary.
The Vols’ defense racked up five sacks in the game, led by EDGE rusher Joshua Josephs. He ended the game with five solo tackles, the most on Tennessee’s defense, and forced a fumble on Syracuse quarterback Steve Angeli.
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Aguilar, Staley, Thomas, Hood, McMurray, and Josephs were Tennessee’s six player representatives after the game on Saturday night. Check out each one of their duo interviews below:
Tennessee QB Joey Aguilar and RB Star Thomas
Tennessee DB Colton Hood and DB Jalen McMurray
Tennessee DL Joshua Josephs and WR Braylon Staley
