When former Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava left for UCLA in the spring transfer portal, many analysts and experts in the media wrote Tennessee off in 2025. Not only did Tennessee lose the quarterback who just led the team to the college football playoffs, but the number of quarterbacks available to bring in to compete for a starting position was slim.
Tennessee brought in App State/UCLA transfer Joey Aguilar to compete for the starting job, which he won in fall camp, but this was all before his electric start to the 2025 season. Few believed that Tennessee could replicate its 2024 success and already had the Vols penciled in for a rebuilding season before 2026.
But while all this talk was going on, Josh Heupel and his staff were in the laboratory creating new ways to evolve the offense. After three games this season, it’s easy to say that Tennessee’s offense has exceeded all expectations with its revamped scheme and new quarterback.
On Wednesday’s episode of The Triple Option podcast, former National Championship-winning coach and Big Noon Kickoff host Urban Meyer admitted that he didn’t see this type of success in the Vols’ future after Iamaleava initially hit the portal.
“UCLA makes the worst trade in the history of trades,” Meyer said. “And Tennessee lands this guy that must be – I don’t know this guy, but he must be a monster. And I was the first guy, Rob, when Nico left, I said, ‘D-U-N, done. It’s over in Knoxville.’ How do you lose a quarterback with that talent? That was dead wrong. Dead wrong. That kid played his, I know they lost, but that kid played his ass off, man.”
Fellow host Rob Stone also offered his take on the situation that’s unfolding on Rocky Top after three games.
“Hey, the folks in orange are feeling pretty good about their quarterback right now,” Stone said. “Right? They’re like, ‘We won that trade. Not won the trade, we fleeced UCLA in the trade.'”
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After games against Syracuse, ETSU, and Georgia, Aguilar has helped Tennessee climb up to a Top 15 team in the country despite a loss against the Bulldogs in the third week of the season. The 6-foot-3 quarterback has 906 yards on 66.3% passing, nine passing touchdowns, two interceptions, and one rushing touchdown. He’s been as good as Tennessee could have asked for as he begins to unlock his potential in Josh Heupel’s up-tempo scheme.
Few saw this coming because of the unknowns in play during the offseason. Aside from the most optimistic Tennessee fans, it was hard to predict that Aguilar would make the jump from Sun Belt quarterback to potential Heisman Trophy candidate. Everyone knew that Aguilar certainly had the arm talent after throwing for more than 6,700 yards in two seasons at App State, but you simply just didn’t know how everything was going to translate to SEC ball.
Aguilar emphatically answered that question with 371 passing yards against the Bulldogs’ defense last Saturday afternoon.
The secret isn’t a secret anymore, though. Aguilar has presented himself as one of the SEC’s top quarterbacks early in the season with a remarkable story behind him. It’s safe to say that excitement is running high in Knoxville as Tennessee fans embark on this journey with their new quarterback.
