Despite the loss to Georgia, there is optimism in Knoxville about what Tennessee football’s offense has done through three games. A lot of this has to do with the play of spring transfer quarterback Joey Aguilar. With a late arrival to campus, he’s been sensational in the trio of games, including the defeat to the Bulldogs.
Against UGA, Aguilar had his finest showing yet. He completed 24-of-36 passes for 371 yards and four touchdowns, along with two picks. He did take his first sack of his UT career, but also ran in a touchdown for the first time as a Vol.
According to FanDuel on the morning of Sept. 14, Aguilar has +1600 odds to win the Heisman Trophy. This is tied for the fifth-best mark in the country. He has amassed 906 passing yards and nine touchdowns through just three games. This is on pace for an absurd 3,624 yards and 36 touchdowns. He did throw two picks in the loss to Georgia, but one was essentially an arm-punt on third down, and the other came after receiver Braylon Staley slipped.
This hype isn’t just from fans, either. With Tennessee’s next opponent coming in the form of UAB, Blazers head coach and former NFL quarterback Trent Dilfer gave his thoughts on the situation. To him, there was a clear upgrade at quarterback from last year’s Nico Iamaleava-led squad and this year with Aguilar.
“The quarterback is playing, I think, better than the quarterback last year. Significantly better,” Dilfer said. “He makes quicker decisions. Sees the field a lot better. Has played a lot better football. Is tremendously accurate when he’s comfortable. And they give the quarterbacks a lot of what I would call training camp looks. Where because they spread you so thin, because they play so fast, you kind of just line up and play training camp defense. Quarterbacks with experience, when they see training camp defense, can get after you a little bit because there is no post-snap disguise. What they see before the ball is snapped is what they get after the ball is snapped.”
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Dilfer, who spent over 10 years in the NFL across different teams, has faced essentially the same offense already, as well. In 2024, he went up against USF, coached by former Tennessee offensive coordinator Alex Golesh. Golesh was tied to the hip of Heupel as they developed this offense, and it gave Dilfer an up-close view.
With Dilfer also spending years as Lipscomb Academy’s head coach in the state of Tennessee, he also got to talk to Golesh prior to his stop in Birmingham. Golesh was consistently there to recruit players from the in-state high school’s roster. In Dilfer’s eyes, the offense can get overwhelming and snowball on teams that aren’t prepared.
“It’s never comfortable. I got to know Alex Golesh really well when I was at Lipscomb (Academy),” Dilfer said. “He recruited our school relentlessly and Alex and I talked a lot of football. We were together a lot. Alex has done everything that I – more than I have done offensively. And then over time, he morphed into the system that he and Heupel built at UCF and now Tennessee. It’s kind of the ultimate conflict offense if it’s going.
“If you get a defense playing on their heels and reacting to what you’re doing, you’re in a lot of trouble. What we tried to do against USF is not react, but instead try to say, ‘Ok, this is how we’re going to play you, and you need to adjust to us.’ It’s been successful at times, and it’s been wildly unsuccessful at times. So, I think we’re trying to find one more layer to defend this, where you’re not playing catch, so to speak. What I mean by that is you’re not like constantly going, ‘Ok, what are they doing? What are they doing?’ Instead, you’re kind of at least trying to force the issue enough.”
Kickoff is scheduled for 12:45 p.m. ET. The game will air on SEC Network.
