Tennessee football is waiting patiently for the ruling to come in on quarterback Joey Aguilar’s hearing that was held on Friday. After both sides gave their arguments and fielded questions, Judge Chris Heagerty revealed he will not be ruling from the bench, instead taking time to mull over his options.
On Monday, college football insider and co-host of the RTI Low-Down, Chris Low, joined 3HL on 104.5 The Zone in Nashville to give his thoughts on the situation. However, his answers didn’t inspire much confidence that he thinks Aguilar will be back next season.
“Just based on some of the people I’ve talked to who have been a part of some of these hearings, sports eligibility type deals, I think there’s a better chance that he doesn’t (win) than he does,” Low said. “But who am I to predict how something is going to go down in court. And whatever happens, and I mean this sincerely, I don’t know Judge Heagerty personally, but in watching and listening and reading, it’s very clear that he is not trying to be – and there were some jokes about it, even the NCAA lawyer said he’s a Vols fan. The guy that was defending the NCAA. There were some jokes made.
“But it was very clear that Judge Heagerty was not going to be portrayed as this orange and white pom-pom shaking judge. He’s (not) going to sort of just rubber-stamp this thing and say, oh yeah, we’re going to rule in your favor just because it’s here.”
“Based on some of the people I’ve talked to that have been in these hearings, I think there’s a better chance that he doesn’t win than he does.”@Clowfb shared his opinion on how he thinks the Joey Aguilar situation could turn out + what the #Vols QB situation could look like👀 pic.twitter.com/43QIfcD10Z
— 3HL (@3HL1045) February 17, 2026
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Aguilar’s lawsuit against the NCAA protests rules that count seasons played at the junior college level against a player’s NCAA eligibility. Aguilar’s side also claims he would be losing out on significant compensation if he were not granted the injunction.
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 players who previously played in junior college and ran out of eligibility during the 2024-25 athletic year.
That ruling gave Aguilar an extra year of eligibility and eventually led to him landing at Tennessee in the spring window. However, Aguilar played two seasons at Diablo Valley Community College, which is why he argues he should have this final year to play at the NCAA level.
In Aguilar’s lone season with Tennessee, the team finished 8-5 (4-4 SEC). However, the offense took a big step back in the right direction. Aguilar posted an SEC-high in passing yards at 3,565 with 24 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.
2 Responses
I know Chancellor Heagerty personally. I likewise have no idea what he will do with this case. I do know that he will do what believes the law requires him to do without regard for Tennessee football or the mighty NCAA.
If the Ole Miss Quarterback can have one more year of eligibility. Why can’t Tennessee?