Tennessee football quarterback Joey Aguilar was far from fully healthy by the end of the 2025 season. The Vols’ signal caller was dealing with a benign tumor in his shoulder, making it difficult to deliver passes as SEC play raged on.
Aguilar made no excuses during the season, though. He kept the ailment private until afterward, since going through a procedure. Now, as he recovers, he made the decision to throw in front of NFL scouts at UT’s Pro Day on Tuesday.
Afterward, Aguilar opened up about the difficulty of finishing last season.
“It was difficult,” Aguilar said on Wednesday. “Arm was hurting really bad throughout the week. That would cause me to not to be able to throw certain routes. Taking away from practice of like a physical rep, but it was something I had to deal with and I chose to do that. So I embraced it and just enjoyed it.”
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While the results can be tied to more than just Aguilar, the Vols found themselves on the wrong side of the scoreboard toward the end of the season. Starting with a loss at Alabama, Tennessee finished 2-4 in its last six games against Power Four opponents. That includes the Music City Bowl loss to Illinois.
Aguilar looked to return to the Vols for a final year, but would need to be granted a preliminary injunction for that to be possible. However, a judge in Knoxville declined his request, leading to Aguilar turning pro.
While he still isn’t healthy, going out and throwing in front of scouts could help him earn an opportunity in the pro ranks.
“Felt good,” Aguilar said after throwing. “You know, I’m still super early in my throwing rehab. I just finished week four of like a 10-12 week process. So I wanted to go out there, show the teams that I’m healing pretty fast and I can still sling the rock. A little injured right now, but I’ll be healthy by the time the team picks me up. I just want to show them I still got it.”
