Tennessee football has one more game in the 2025 season, a clash against Illinois in the Music City Bowl. Before the game, Vols quarterback Joey Aguilar met with the media to give his thoughts on the game.
He was asked about his future at Tennessee, decision to not opt-out, leadership and more.
Here’s what he said.
More From RTI: Tennessee QB Joey Aguilar Reveals Whether He’ll Play In Music City Bowl
On the Diego Pavia lawsuit, what’s next for his football career
“Not much. My answer is still my answer, just focus on the season and pursue what I want to pursue afterwards.”
On if the uncertainty this year feels like last year at all, or if it’s different with the bowl game
“To a certain extent (it feels the same), but obviously I’m preparing for a bowl game, so my focus is on that and getting ready for Illinois.”
On if he has thought about playing another season of college football, the pro versus college thought process
“I guess I’ll figure that out after the bowl game.”
On Tennessee’s younger players being recognized for awards and honors after the regular season
“It just shows, Coach (Heupel has this) saying like young guys don’t have time to be young. And those guys come in here and put the work in and keep their head down, grinding and giving everything they got every day. It just shows how we work, as a team, everybody comes in here and grinds and those guys deserve it. They put a lot of work before I got here and when I got here, so congrats to those guys. And obviously they’re great players and they got a lot more coming throughout their years here at Tennessee.”
On younger Tennessee players that he saw grow this season
“I mean there are a lot of guys. Definitely one that I see is obviously David Sanders. He was injured first part of the season and he came out here and dominated. So glad to have him on my team and on the O-line protecting me.”
On Tennessee getting back on the practice field after the loss to Vanderbilt
“We didn’t play how we were supposed to play second half and it showed. But we’re grateful to go out there and play one more game together. And it’s a blessing to be out here playing for this team. And our main goal right now is Illinois to go out there to execute what we got planned.”
On if there has had to be any conversations about Tennessee players being motivated to play in a bowl game
“Nah, I think everybody, what happened (against Vandy) happened and we flushed it pretty quick after watching film and learning from our mistakes. But we got one more game on our schedule and that’s a blessing. Everybody’s super excited to go out there.”
On freshmen wide receivers Radarious Jackson and Travis Smith Jr.
“I mean, those guys are both really good athletes and good players and to learn under, you know, Mike (Matthews), Bray(lon Staley) and Chris (Brazzell) is good for them, but I mean this is a time for their opportunity and they’re gonna go out there and I think they would not take it for granted. You know, they’re both showing that at practice and they have been throughout the season, so I’m excited to go play with those guys.”
On what he likes about wide receiver Radarious Jackson
“You throw the ball anywhere near him, he’s gonna go catch it. His ball and catch radius is pretty crazy. I’ve thrown him some bad, bad passes, he’s running across the middle and it’s behind him and he’s still catching it somehow, so that’s a good thing to see. And you know, obviously, I gotta give him better passes, but his catch radius is really awesome.”
On if he’s an emotional guy when seasons end
“It’s a game. You know, I’m blessed to go out there and play it one more time and if I’m like, if it’s my last game or not, you know, I’m excited. And to go out there with this team one more time, grateful for the coaches and the program, the community for accepting me this year and just one more time to go out there and show up.”
On why he has that perspective about last games
“Yeah, I’m not really a big emotional guy so I mean, I’ve been playing this forever and eventually it’ll come to an end, but I’m excited to go out there one more time.”
On if the break has allowed the team to come back to practice with a refreshed mindset
“For sure. I mean, everybody is banged up throughout the season, so the time off definitely got people back and healthy and bodies recovered. But I mean, like I said, it’s good to get away from it for a little bit, refresh the mind, refresh the body, but you know, we’re excited to go out there one more time.”
On if he did anything fun on the break
“Golf a couple times.”
On his music taste before the Music City Bowl
“These are little low key rapper. His name’s TMOFF. I listen to him a lot. Listen to a lot of country music, worship music, but got kind of more of a calm music playlist before I go out there.”
On if he thought about opting out of the game
“Nah, I mean, it’s one more opportunity to play with the guys, so might as well go play, you know.”
