RTI)
Tennessee football has a big question mark at the quarterback position next year. By current rules, Joey Aguilar is out of eligibility and unable to return. This would create a three-man quarterback battle between Faizon Brandon, George MacIntyre and Ryan Staub.
However, Aguilar is fighting to be eligible for a return to the Vols. On Wednesday, a Knox County judge granted Aguilar’s request for a temporary restraining order against the NCAA, KnoxNews’ Adam Sparks first reported.
The temporary restraining order allows Aguilar to join the Tennessee team in the short term. However, this is not a permanent decision. The preliminary injunction is expected to be set for Friday, Jan. 13, and a more permanent decision will come following that.
If Aguilar is able to return to play for the Vols next season, what would it mean for the outlook of the team, though? On3 college football personality J.D. Pickell gave his thoughts.
“Is he gonna end up winning this case? Is he gonna be allowed an extra year of eligibility? The honest answer is I don’t know,” Pickell said. “But if he does get to play for you, Tennessee, there is no way to overstate how impactful that would be for the Vols.
“A lot of people forget this, now. Joey Aguilar showed up to Knoxville after spring practice. Digested all of Josh Heupel’s offense in a matter of 15 minutes during fall camp and then goes out and leads the SEC in passing. If you get that guy back in the fold for a full offseason, now we’re talking about the College Football Playoffs. Make no mistake, that is very much so on the table when you speak about Tennessee in the context of having Joey Aguilar as a starting quarterback for 2026.”
If Joey Aguilar is back at Tennessee in 2026… here we go!https://t.co/58arVdeiJ1 pic.twitter.com/DpHTZykHuu
— J.D. PicKell (@jdpickell) February 4, 2026
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Aguilar’s lawsuit argues that his junior college seasons should not count toward his NCAA eligibility. He redshirted at the junior college level in 2019, before the 2020 season was cancelled due to Covid. Then, he played a pair of seasons at the junior college level before joining the NCAA ranks with App State. He played there for two years before transferring to Tennessee this past summer.
A judge in a similar Diego Pavia case originally sided with the Vanderbilt quarterback last winter, enacting a temporary restraining order against the NCAA. In response, the NCAA granted an extra year of eligibility to student-athletes who previously played in junior college and ran out of eligibility during the 2024-25 athletic year. That was how Aguilar had eligibility a year ago to play for the Vols.
This past season, Aguilar threw for 3,565 yards over the course of 13 starts. This included 24 touchdowns and 10 interceptions on a 67.5% completion percentage. He also ran for four scores. The team finished the year 8-5 (4-4 SEC) with a loss to Illinois in the Music City Bowl.
