Tennessee football named Joey Aguilar its starting quarterback two weeks before the season-opener, and he lived up to high expectations in his debut. Against Syracuse, Aguilar tossed for 247 yards and three touchdowns in a dominant 45-26 win over Syracuse in Atlanta.
To an opposing coach, there is apparently a clear attitude from the Vols’ program about the man they have in charge of the offense. ETSU head coach Will Healy gave his thoughts on Aguilar before his Buccaneers team faces the Vols inside Neyland Stadium this Saturday.
To Healy, he can tell that Tennessee is confident in its choice of starting quarterback.
“I think he’s a really good player,” Healy said. “And I think that’s kind of what I’ve seen just from the outside is that there’s a belief with that team of who he is as a person. I’ve never gone against him, but I’ve watched a ton of his film, and he just seems competitive. He’s a really good athlete. He makes you defend all 11 in the run game. I think he throws the ball really well. He’s had a lot of experience. He’s been in big stages. It’ll obviously be his first chance to play in Neyland Stadium, which I’m sure will be a lot of fun for him. But it seems to me like there’s kind of a confidence and a belief with that program that he’s the guy.”
More From RTI: What ETSU Football Head Coach Will Healy Said Ahead of Matchup with Tennessee
This won’t be the first time Aguilar has played against ETSU. However, with Healy in his first season as the Bucs’ head coach, some of the personnel may be the same, but the system and schemes are different.
In 2024, App State, Aguilar’s former team, opened the season by hosting ETSU. The Mountaineers won the game 38-10 behind Aguilar’s arm. He completed 22-of-36 passes for 326 yards and two touchdowns. He did not throw an interception and was never sacked. Aguilar also ran for 19 yards and two touchdowns.
Healy understands the uphill battle his team has to take down a Tennessee team that top-to-bottom clearly has more talent. He thinks limiting the explosive plays, which Aguilar has already connected on, will be part of the equation of competing.
“So it’ll be important for us to get pressure. It’ll be important for us to — they create so many explosive plays with what they do offensively that making them snap the ball again will be really important for us. The explosive play battle will be massive. But I got a lot of respect for him. And our guys have seen him, but he’s with a different team. Our team’s a lot different. The environment will be a little different than when our guys played him the last time. A lot has changed since then, but still got a ton of respect for him. He’s a great player.”
Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. ET in Knoxville. The game will air on SECN+ and ESPN+.
