There’s a notion that Josh Heupel’s offense doesn’t translate to the NFL. Especially after Hendon Hooker has struggled to stay on active rosters and Jalin Hyatt hasn’t found his footing with the Giants, critics are pointing to Heupel’s offensive style as not preparing players for the next level.
Whether you believed that to be the case or not, it’s a moot point now. Tennessee overhauled its offense this past season and found immense success in the process. To Aguilar, it was a much more pro-style approach than what he saw the Vols do in the past, and he seems confident it will translate.
“Honestly, I think the offense in general, if you go back and watch film, we went a little less option game,” Aguilar said. “A lot more pro-style offense. You know, pure progression reads and things like that. I think the offense that we ran this year was different from the past few years. I’m excited for this journey and this next steps and prepared that they threw me in this offense and kind of switched it all around.”
Joey Aguilar says Tennessee implemented a lot more pro-style concepts in 2025 that will help him make that transition pic.twitter.com/3Jt7kvLGJv
Advertisement— Lucas Panzica (@lucaspanzica) February 27, 2026
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An actual change to the offensive approach doesn’t stop pundits from running with old narratives, though. Star wide receiver Chris Brazzell will likely field similar questions when he meets with the media, though his route tree was expanded from previous versions of the offense.
Besides just being an offense that theoretically translates better to the pros, the effect it had on the Vols’ season was also easy to notice. After struggling to move the ball with Nico Iamaleava at the helm in 2024, Tennessee surged to have arguably the best offense in the SEC.
The Vols ranked second in the SEC in yards per game at 6,062 and 466.3 per game, only behind Ole Miss. The 39.8 points per game that Tennessee put up also led the conference.
Aguilar put up monster numbers, as well, leading the SEC in passing. He produced 3,565 passing yards, 24 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Brazzell nearly led the conference in receiving yards at 1,017. However, Mississippi State’s Brenen Thompson narrowly beat him with one more game played.
