Greg McElroy shares ‘concerns’ over Tennessee’s QB production in 2025
By Rolando Rosa
Published:
In order for Tennessee to keep the momentum from last season’s trip to the College Football Playoff, it will have to successfully incorporate new players on offense.
The most important of those will be redshirt senior quarterback Joey Aguilar, who previously played at Appalachian State. ESPN’s Greg McElroy isn’t diminishing Aguilar’s talent, who was the Sun Belt Newcomer of the Year in 2023.
However, he’s worried about the short timeframe for him to acclimate to Tennessee’s system.
“What concerns me is their quarterback,” McElroy said on the latest episode of Always College Football. “This is not an indictment on Joey Aguilar. I’ve seen Joey Aguilar play high-level college football. It was a couple of years ago. Last year, a little bit down to earth… It now has happened so quickly that when he arrives in Knoxville here this summer, you’ve got to learn the offense at hyper speed.”
Aguilar has passed for over 3,000 yards in each of his last 2 seasons but also has thrown 24 interceptions.
“That was against the Sun Belt competition he was up against week in and week out over the last 2 years,” McElroy said. “Now he’s got to learn a new scheme. This is a scheme that does require some rep equity that you have to be on the same page with your wide receivers. There’s a lot of reading. There’s a lot of reacting to what the defense does. Josh Heupel can simplify things but it’s going to be up to Joey Aguilar to have a great grasp of this offense and he’s not going to have a lot of time to learn it.”
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McElroy also thinks the departure of running back Dylan Sampson and 4 offensive lineman from last season will carry a heavy burden for Aguilar.
Aguilar and Tennessee begin the season with a home matchup vs. Syracuse on Aug. 30 (12 p.m. ET/ABC).
