Josh Heupel praises Joey Aguilar in leadup to Georgia showdown
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Josh Heupel’s program went through a lot in the spring with the shocking and sudden transfer of Nico Iamaleava, who led Tennessee to the College Football Playoff last season.
Iamaleava bolted for UCLA, and the Volunteers were in search for a new starting quarterback amid the Iamaleava saga. It turned out that Iamaleava’s replacement for 2025 would come from UCLA, where Aguilar was set to play this season. In a sort of switching of 2 quarterbacks between Knoxville and Pasadena, Heupel and Tennessee got their new guy for this fall. Aguilar had to win the starting quarterback job in fall camp, which he did, and now he’s led the Vols to season-opening wins over Syracuse and East Tennessee State.
Aguilar hasn’t been perfect so far, but he’s been as good as anybody who bleeds orange could hope for. The senior has thrown for 535 yards with 5 touchdown passes and 0 interceptions in those 2 games, and on Saturday he’ll lead the 15th-ranked Vols against 6th-ranked Georgia in an SEC showdown at 3:30 p.m. ET on ABC. Both teams are 2-0 going into their SEC opener.
Heupel has all the confidence in the world in his new quarterback, and he showered Aguilar with praise during an appearance on Friday on The Pat McAfee Show.
“It’s such a condensed window to learn the offense. He’s a great teammate, and he cares a lot about the guys around him. He’s got a great work ethic. Couldn’t be more proud of who he is and what he’s done,” Josh Heupel told McAfee, who was doing his show in Knoxville in the leadup to the matchup at Neyland Stadium.
Aguilar has another chance on Saturday to endear himself to Tennessee fans, with the Week 3 matchup being by far the biggest of his young career as a Volunteer.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
