With the Vols up 17-7 on Syracuse in the second quarter of the opening game last Saturday, Tennessee fans watched as quarterback Joey Aguilar uncorked a bomb down the field and directly into the hands of wide receiver Braylon Staley for a massive Tennessee touchdown.
It was the type of play that UT fans and the college football world was used to seeing during the 2021 and 2022 seasons, but was lacking the past two years. For Tennessee to hit a deep shot like they did in the first half with a brand new quarterback sparked a new sense of optimism for what this offense could be with Aguilar at the helm.
In his debut game with Tennessee, Aguilar looked poised and comfortable while throwing for nearly 250 years and three touchdowns against the Orange. It wasn’t perfect, but he operated the offense well and wasn’t afraid to throw it around the field, trusting his receivers. Aguilar also did a nice job of not putting the ball in harm’s way through the game.
But the play that people are remembering coming out of the weekend for Tennessee was that deep shot. Tennessee offensive coordinator Joey Halzle talked about the offseason goal of finding those explosive plays again during fall camp, and the Vols quickly hit one in the opener against the Orange.
On3 college football analyst J.D. PicKell believes that deep ball is a sign of things to come for the Vols’ offense in 2025.
“This is going to be a real thing here,” PicKell said about the Vols’ explosive offense on On3’s YouTube channel. “It’s going to be a tangible thing. Joey Aguilar, when he came over from UCLA, from App State, one of the talking points for us was, hey, he’s got some gunslinger to him. Got to take care of the football, but that dude will let it ride deep. And when he uncorks it, he’s got a pretty good rate when it comes to his downfield kind of passes.”
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It wasn’t just Tennessee’s longest scoring play of the day, but also the longest reception in the SEC from Week 1. That’s the type of statistic that almost felt routine at times when Hendon Hooker’s offense was humming on Rocky Top.
“I think that deep ball from Joey Aguilar, and it’s just one play, but I think you’re going to see a lot more of it going forward,” PicKell said. “That’s there for Tennessee. That’s going to be real. That’s going to translate. Like, bring it on. Bring it on.”
Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel is an innovator on the offensive side of the ball. That’s been widely recognized since his arrival in Knoxville before the 2021 season. But Heupel has found ways to do more with less at times, and it now looks like he’s got some guys who have the ability to run his ever-evolving offense this season.
It’s just one game, but it looks like the ingredients could be there for Tennessee’s passing game to supplement its high-level run game that the college football world has seen for several years now. And if it continues to grow and evolve, as Aguilar and his cast of receiving weapons get more comfortable with the offense in-game, it could be a game-changer for the Vols’ outlook this season.
Catch the full clip of The Hard Count with J.D. PicKell below.
