Joey Aguilar named starting QB for Tennessee football
By Ethan Stone
Published:
Joey Aguilar will lead the Tennessee Volunteers in their first game of the 2025 season against Syracuse. Josh Heupel tabbed the Appalachian State transfer as Tennessee’s starter on Sunday night.
Tennessee announced the news with the following picture and caption on its social media platforms.
Aguilar had been in a quarterback battle with redshirt freshman Jake Merklinger and true freshman George MacIntyre after transferring in from Appalachian State by way of UCLA. Heupel originally shied away from naming a starter, but obviously he’s seen enough from the senior gunslinger following the Vols’ first 2 scrimmages of fall camp. Aguilar reportedly threw the football well during Scrimmage No. 2 on Friday of this past week.
It’s impossible to talk about Aguilar’s journey to Knoxville without mentioning the role former Vol Nico Iamaleava had in its progression. Iamaleava entered the portal in April and landed closer to home with the Bruins, pushing Aguilar to the portal in the process. Aguilar landed at Tennessee just a week later. Not exactly the offseason Tennessee was expecting, but all things considered it worked out well for Aguilar.
Aguilar has seen success and struggles across his time as an FBS starter. He had a strong first season with the Mountaineers in 2023, throwing for over 3700 yards with 33 touchdowns and 10 interceptions on 64% completion. Aguilar took a considerable step back in 2024 for reasons that are hard to explain. His completion percentage fell to 56% on 70 less attempts, and he threw for just under 3000 yards with 23 touchdowns and 14 interceptions.
Tennessee opens the season in Atlanta against Syracuse on Aug. 30.
Ethan Stone is a Tennessee graduate and loves all things college football and college basketball. Firm believer in fouling while up 3.
