Tennessee QB Joey Aguilar nearly quit football — now he's on the sport's biggest stage

Joey Aguilar heard the rumors. He realized it was all however sure that Nico Iamaleava was headed to UCLA after a tumultuous breakup at Tennessee.

His first intuition was to remain and compete.

Positive, Iamaleava was a former five-star recruit who had already earned tens of millions and was anointed as a future star earlier than he ever stepped onto a university discipline. However Aguilar, who had transferred from Appalachian State to UCLA after the 2024 season, wasn’t fazed.

“I imagine I may go up in opposition to anyone,” Aguilar mentioned in an interview The Athletic.

Aguilar doesn’t run from competitors. He welcomes it. That’s what occurs when you may have zero provides out of highschool and make two stops in junior school earlier than getting a chance to take a snap within the Division I ranks.

However this example was distinctive, and people closest to Aguilar urged him to rethink. So he entered the switch portal and landed at Tennessee, making a de facto quarterback commerce between the Vols and Bruins.

Although Iamaleava’s each transfer has been tracked since he burst onto the recruiting scene, Aguilar’s winding, resilient path to changing into an SEC quarterback is way much less identified.

And there’s nonetheless a chapter left to be written underneath the brightest lights within the storied SEC.

Stated Mike Darr, Aguilar’s coach at Diablo Valley Faculty in Northern California: “He’s not afraid of something.”

Diego Pavia made nationwide headlines when he sued the NCAA final yr in hopes of getting an additional yr of eligibility. Aguilar saved shut tabs.

Like Pavia, Aguilar was a former junior school quarterback whose eligibility was imagined to expire after the 2024 season. If Pavia may get another yr, why wouldn’t the identical guidelines apply to Aguilar? He visited the compliance workplace at Appalachian State nearly every day, hoping for excellent news.

In late December, he received it. Not solely did Pavia get an additional yr, however the NCAA — whereas interesting the ruling — created a blanket waiver extending an additional season of eligibility for equally located former juco athletes for the 2025-26 season. Aguilar would have another yr of faculty soccer.

After a training change at App State, the place he had two up-and-down seasons, Aguilar determined to enter the switch portal to make use of his bonus yr elsewhere.

UCLA offensive coordinator Tino Sunseri was one of many first to achieve out, and the 2 shortly meshed. New App State coach Dowell Loggains met with Aguilar to gauge his curiosity in staying in Boone, however the probability for a contemporary begin and a return to his residence state was too good to go up, so he dedicated to the Bruins.

Aguilar, who grew up within the East Bay, loved being again in California. And his mother and father, Jose and Lydia, had been thrilled, now in a position to drive to see him play somewhat than take a cross-country flight.

In Westwood, Aguilar labored laborious to be taught the playbook and provides himself an opportunity to complete his profession in fashion. He deliberate to have 80-plus relations at his first residence recreation with the Bruins.

In April, stress reached an apex throughout the nation between Tennessee and its quarterback.

Iamaleava, the gem of Tennessee’s 2023 recruiting class and the quarterback who helped the Vols to the 2024 Faculty Soccer Playoff, missed follow amid contract talks as his camp sought a elevate from the $2.2 million he was scheduled to make this season. The Vols balked. The subsequent day, head coach Josh Heupel confirmed Tennessee was transferring on with out Iamaleava.

The quarterback submitted paperwork to enter the switch portal, and hypothesis shortly linked the Los Angeles-area product to UCLA.

“We smelled it,” Jose Aguilar mentioned.

Joey’s mother and father inspired him to speak to Sunseri and head coach DeShaun Foster to seek out out what was happening. However Aguilar’s inside circle mentioned getting straight solutions proved futile.

“It was just a little unsettling as a result of we had been discovering out info by the media,” mentioned Danny Hernandez, Aguilar’s non-public quarterbacks coach. “DeShaun Foster wasn’t very forthcoming. … Tino Sunseri was in the dead of night on lots of stuff. … It felt like no one knew what was happening and no one was speaking. It simply actually appeared like a foul state of affairs.”

Jose and Lydia Aguilar mentioned that the UCLA coaches weren’t upfront with Joey concerning the college’s courtship of Iamaleava.

“On the identical time, they don’t must be,” Jose mentioned. “It’s their program, they’re going to run it how they need to run it.”

Foster maintains he saved the road of communication open. “We talked to Joey earlier than it went public,” he mentioned, “so he heard it from us earlier than he heard it from the media or something.”

Joey mentioned “the vibes had been off” because the April 25 deadline to enter the spring switch portal neared.

As Aguilar mulled his school future, these round him started to discover potential choices. Hernandez, who works with a number of school quarterbacks, acquired inquiries from faculties that wished to know if Aguilar deliberate to enter the portal. His brokers assessed QB depth charts elsewhere.

“We knew what faculties wanted quarterbacks,” mentioned Emily McKiernan, the director of Athlete Advertising and marketing for Soccer NIL at expertise company Octagon, which represents Auguilar. “We went to work reaching out to them to verify he would discover the appropriate match.”

Iamaleava formally introduced his dedication to the Bruins on April 20. Aguilar mentioned he had a “good dialog” with the coaches however “simply felt for me and my profession, it was greatest for me to maneuver on from that state of affairs.” The murky QB image was too dangerous for Aguilar, who has just one yr left to show to NFL scouts that he’s value a shot on the subsequent stage.

McKiernan mentioned “a handful of choices” had been thought of as soon as Aguilar entered the portal on April 21. However Tennessee shortly shot to the highest of the checklist.

With Iamaleava gone, the Vols had a transparent want, with solely two scholarship quarterbacks on the roster — redshirt freshman Jake Merklinger and true freshman George MacIntyre — who’ve tried passes in school (9 mixed).

Aguilar felt snug after talking with Heupel, offensive coordinator Joey Halzle and director of inside and advance scouting Billy Excessive. “All people was tremendous actual and tremendous real,” Aguilar mentioned. By the top of the day, Aguilar dedicated and agreed to a contract value round $1.2 million, in response to ESPN.

The Aguilars don’t harbor sick will towards UCLA. Joey mentioned he loved his time working with Sunseri. Jose, who has coached youth and highschool soccer for 30 years, understands the enterprise facet of it.

“They’re constructing, and Nico’s a three-year man and Joey’s a one-year man. We get it.”

Lydia mentioned she needs Joey to “have the final yr that he deserves.”

Joey mentioned he has no complaints.

“I’m not mad at anyone,” he mentioned. “All the things occurs for a cause.”

Aguilar’s school soccer profession practically ended earlier than it actually started.

Regardless of 4 years as a starter in highschool, Aguilar had no recruiters sniffing round.

“Truthfully, I didn’t have something,” he mentioned. “No school contact, nothing popping out of highschool.”

So he enrolled at Metropolis Faculty of San Francisco in 2019 searching for a chance.

He redshirted his first yr, watching the video games from the sidelines whereas on the journey squad and questioning if he ought to proceed to pursue soccer. He spent greater than $100 of his personal cash every week on the BART — “It was some huge cash that I didn’t have,” Aguilar mentioned — to make the 90-minute (every approach) commute to follow. His day began at 6 a.m. and he didn’t return residence till round 10 p.m.

“It was sporting on him,” Lydia mentioned. “It was like ‘Do I nonetheless need to do that?’”

In highschool, Aguilar had taken a firefighting class and have become enamored with the occupation. He thought lots about it throughout his lengthy practice rides to and from campus.

“I used to be like, ‘Man, I’d as nicely simply cease taking part in soccer and begin my fireman profession.’ However my family and friends had been like ‘No, simply keep affected person.’”

He pushed ahead. After one season, he transferred to Diablo Valley Faculty, solely a 20-minute commute every approach.

Darr was intrigued by Aguilar’s potential however may sense the quarterback wanted help after a troublesome yr at his first juco cease.

“He was fairly discouraged popping out of there,” mentioned Darr, who has since retired from DVC and is now teaching highschool soccer in Texas.

The postponement of the 2020 season because of the COVID-19 pandemic didn’t assist. By the point the 2021 season rolled round, it had been practically two years since Aguilar had performed in a aggressive recreation.

DVC already had a longtime starter, Dylan Graham, who went on to earn a scholarship at Division II College of Texas-Permian Basin, however Aguilar shortly made an impression on the teaching employees. Graham remained the starter out of camp, however there finally got here a degree the place they needed to get Aguilar on the sphere. On considered one of his first performs, Aguilar threw an extended landing on a publish route.

“As quickly as I put him in, it was like, ‘Rattling, I don’t know what I used to be ready for,’” mentioned Drew Anderson, DVC’s offensive coordinator on the time. “And he simply form of took off from there.”

Going into his second yr at Diablo Valley, Aguilar was the unquestioned starter, however an harm in his second recreation sidelined him for a month. He grew involved as a result of it was his final yr of junior school soccer and his final probability to get recruited by Division I faculties.

These worries turned out to be unwarranted. He returned to the sphere and faculties took discover. Coastal Carolina was his first FBS provide. App State wasn’t far behind.

“I preferred his angle,” mentioned Kevin Barbay, App State’s offensive coordinator on the time. “He’s a competitor. The second’s not too large for him. He’s very assured in himself and his skills.”

Aguilar dedicated after taking an official go to.

“We thought, ‘Lastly, every thing has paid off,’” Lydia Aguilar mentioned.

Earlier than his first FBS begin, Joey Aguilar sat on the 4-yard line at Kenan Stadium.

The largest alternative of his profession had arrived. The Mountaineers had been on the street at North Carolina to face the Tar Heels and future first-round NFL Draft decide Drake Maye. Aguilar began that recreation as a result of Ryan Burger, tabbed QB1 out of coaching camp, broke a finger within the season opener per week earlier.

Aguilar preferred to take a seat on the 4 as a result of that was his jersey quantity. By way of his AirPods, he listened to “Lengthy Nights” by TMOFF, reflecting on the journey that introduced him to that time.

It took a minute simply to get hereBeen an extended trip, I carried out put that factor in fifth gearSo selective with my time, solely ready to see the verify clearWe carried out got here a great distance, can’t wait to see subsequent yr

That night time, Aguilar confirmed the steely poise that had received his junior school coaches over, throwing two landing passes and main three scoring drives within the fourth quarter and extra time in a 40-34 loss to the Tar Heels.

With Burger sidelined the remainder of the season, Aguilar shined, throwing for 3,757 yards and 33 touchdowns to guide the Mountaineers to the Solar Belt championship recreation. His second season was extra turbulent. His numbers dipped throughout the board, and the staff went 5-6 and missed a bowl recreation after profitable 9 video games in 2023.

His soccer profession was seemingly over.

Then the Pavia ruling modified every thing, setting off the chain response that led Aguilar from Boone to Los Angeles, then again east to Knoxville.

Throughout his brief keep at UCLA, Aguilar went by spring follow with the Bruins whereas concurrently working to complete his diploma in communication research from App State, which he earned in early Could. As soon as the mud settled on the Iamaleava saga and Aguilar’s pivot, he moved in mid-Could to Knoxville to get to work.

“That connection means every thing.”#Vols Miles Kitselman says he and QB Joey Aguilar hit it off instantly. pic.twitter.com/4EbGn4ai7m

— Paige Dauer (@PaigeDauerFDP) July 15, 2025

Since enrolling, he has devoured recreation tape from the Vols’ 2024 season to be taught the offense and spent intensive time with Halzle and offensive analysts Landry Jones and Jared Peery to rise up to hurry.

Heupel didn’t assure Aguilar something after they initially spoke.

“They instructed me I gotta are available right here and compete,” Aguilar mentioned. “They’ve a great QB room already with George and Jake. I’m not coming in anticipating to be the starter instantly. In every single place I’ve been, I needed to earn the appropriate to be the man.

“Nothing in my life has been given to me, which is completely nice as a result of it simply makes me work more durable.”

Heupel and Tennessee gamers lauded Aguilar at SEC media days for his efforts to be taught the scheme and jell together with his new teammates — on and off the sphere — since arriving.

“He’s turn out to be an interwoven a part of the material of who we’re,” Heupel mentioned.

Aguilar is seemingly a really perfect match for Tennessee’s veer-and-shoot fashion offense. The scheme makes use of a quick tempo and extensively areas the sphere, which is able to permit Aguilar to showcase his arm energy, mobility and skill to decipher coverages.

“Your complete playbook is huge open for them to do every thing of their repertoire,” Hernandez mentioned.

First, Aguilar should win the job, however that hasn’t stopped him from rising from the pack earlier than. If he does, among the most storied school soccer venues await, akin to Alabama’s Bryant-Denny Stadium on Oct. 18 and Florida’s Swamp in Gainesville, Fla., on Nov. 22. The Vols host Georgia and Oklahoma at Neyland Stadium.

Fittingly, his final regular-season recreation can be in opposition to Vanderbilt and Pavia, the quarterback who helped Aguilar achieve one other probability and has an identical beat-the-odds story.

Lydia, when first glancing at Tennessee’s schedule, mentioned her preliminary response was “Holy crap.” Jose mentioned that Joey “hit the lottery” with this chance.

“We had been simply grateful that he received a scholarship and graduated together with his diploma from App State,” Lydia mentioned. “Now you’re taking it to a different stage.”

Joey has appeared on the schedule, too, however hasn’t dwelled on it.

However he’s grateful. His soccer journey may have ended a number of occasions. He wished to be a fireman to “assist individuals and save the world.”

This season, he’ll must accept serving to the Vols and saving their season.

(Prime picture: Reinhold Matay / Imagn Photos)