“Let’s start calling it the Joey Aguilar situation,” Josh Heupel told the press very early this off-season, when the QB was slated to arrive at Tennessee. He no longer wants to look back at the Nico Iamaleava era. Aguilar is thrust into a crash course for the QB1 position, taking over from the scorned QB. He trumps Iamaleava when it comes to experience, but he’s not the quarterback that Vols fans can put their blind trust in. As he gears up to play his first major-stakes football season, there are still some faults in his game that need mending.
Aguilar has a total of 6,759 yards, 56 TDs, and a completion percentage of 60%. Aguilar has undeniable strength for Josh Heupel to bank on. He has impressive arm strength and can make good throws deep down the field. Also, Aguilar can handle pocket pressure well. He can make out of pockets in a great way, and knows how to extend plays. But his most glaring issue is his tendency to be reckless as a quarterback. It’s a flaw that has caught the eye of multiple experts, which he has to mend in a short time before the season opens.
Jack Foster discussed it with Chase Thomas over the latter’s podcast. “I know he’s kind of like a full-center quarterback, like grip-it-rip-it, like YOLO. Makes a lot of mistakes. But I don’t know how much he likes to throw across the middle of the field,” Foster highlighted. Aguilar is known for his deep throws. It’s something he does quite often. But it’s also where he struggles big time. Analysts, time and again, have noted how reckless Aguilar can be with the ball. He has racked up 24 turnovers, which is an alarming number. In the South Alabama game, Aguilar was able to connect on a great deep ball down the sideline. Right afterwards, the QB could have a 100-yard pick-six to his name if one of his teammates weren’t tracking an opponent player five yards ahead of the end zone.
“[You’re] stepping in the SEC,” Urban Meyer said, directed at Aguilar. “So everybody’s at least a step, maybe at most positions, two steps faster… [Those] interceptions now … the windows just are so much tighter. I will go back on record again (with) saying (that) Tennessee is screwed,” the veteran coach added. He also noted that his total number of interceptions indicates that he made one or two per game – that is proof of Aguilar’s recklessness with the ball. He’s no Garrett Nussmeier, who justifies his gunslinger nickname. His comparisons with his Tennessee predecessor began ever since word broke out that him transferring out of UCLA. Unfortunately, Iamaleava gets an upside even after doing what he did to Tennessee.
Joey Aguilar lacks one key Nico Iamaleava strength
There’s only one major thing for Aguilar to focus on: protect that ball. That’s what Eric Cain told Insider Spencer McLaughlin on the Locked On College Football podcast. “He’s just got to protect the football,” Cain said. If Aguilar can manage to do that, the Vols still stand a chance to compete for a playoff spot, according to Cain. To that, McLaughlin brought in why Iamaleava looked better than Joey Aguilar at the moment.
“[In] 2024, aside from a couple of big-time throws, he was a game manager…. And when you have a young starting quarterback for the first time and a great run game and a great defense, why not be a game manager? You’re winning football games, and that’s what Tennessee did en route to a college football play-off presence,” the host said. Nico Iamaleava fit into what Heupel wanted out of the team. Iamaleava played in a controlled manner and was looking to replicate those results in 2025 as well and grow as an even better quarterback.
Smack dab in the middle of the offseason, Josh Heupel was forced to change his offensive strategy. With Nico Iamaleava gone, all of what was planned for him was thrown out the window. But even Aguilar, who has an edge over the departed QB with his experience, has heaps to work on if he truly wants to give his CFB career a great finish. Tennessee is a huge stage for Aguilar, and he has to realize that the stakes are much higher here than anywhere else he’s ever been.
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