NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Joey Aguilar is half of college football’s wildest flip-flops. When Nico Iamaleava departed Tennessee in April for UCLA, the quarterback left the Trojans to join the Volunteers.
Now Aguilar has Iamaleava’s old starting job.
“Coming out here and being the starting quarterback for this program is nothing but excitement, and that’s all I can say,” Aguilar said Wednesday. “I’m just super excited.”
Adapting to changing circumstances is nothing new for the 24-year-old quarterback.
When the coronavirus pandemic shut down junior college football in 2020, Aguilar was preparing to start on his goal to be a firefighter. He was lured back to football where he played two seasons at Diablo Valley Community College in California. He then played 25 games at Appalachian State in 2023 and 2024.
Aguilar was ready to test himself at UCLA when Iamaleava was not welcome at Tennessee just before the Vols’ spring game. Iamaleava transferred to UCLA . So Aguilar, who has the Bible verse Proverbs 3:5-6 tattooed on his ribs, gambled on moving again.
Even Aguilar can’t quite believe how everything has turned out.
“If you would tell me that in 2021, 2022, I probably would not believe it,” Aguilar said. “I was in juco at that time, looking at players at this level, like, ‘Dang, that’s crazy. I wish I was there.’ And here I am. I just got to thank Jesus for giving me the opportunity to be here.”
Aguilar arrived on campus in Knoxville in May.
He has size at 6-foot-3 and 225 pounds and a resume featuring 6,760 yards passing with 56 touchdowns at Appalachian State. He also ran for 452 yards and five more scores. Aguilar will make his 25th career start Aug. 30 when the 24th-ranked Volunteers open the season in Atlanta against Syracuse.
He had to beat out Jake Merklinger, who appeared in two games last season, and freshman George MacIntyre. Aguilar did it by quickly learning coach Josh Heupel’s offense that the other quarterbacks already knew.
That involved early mornings, late nights, lots of film and talking with coaches to learn both game plans and the concept of what Tennessee does on offense.
“It took a while, but I got it down,” Aguilar said.
Heupel said Tuesday that Aguilar showed just how comfortable he had become to the point he was able to control the offense as coaches asked. Tennessee announced Aguilar as the starter Sunday night in a social media post.
“His decision-making accuracy with the football, you know, our checks that he controls, you put all that together, and that’s ultimately why we made the decision,” Heupel said.
Even with his experience, Aguilar has had to adjust to just how fast Heupel wants Tennessee’s offense to operate. The Vols ran an average of three plays per minute in his first season and at a rate of 10 seconds per play in his second. They mostly stuck to the ground reaching the College Football Playoff last season.
How fast the Vols go this season will depend on Aguilar. He ran an up-tempo offense in 2023 at Appalachian State.
“We were like pretty on the ball, just not as fast,” Aguilar said. “So just getting used to getting in the signal and lining up and going through my progressions was just an adjustment I had to make.”
As strange as this journey has been, Aguilar thanked his family, friends and coaches for supporting him all the way as he prepares to make his next start.
“I wouldn’t go back and would want to change my journey at all.” Aguilar said. ___
Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football
