Joey Aguilar, Tennessee Football News: Draft Scout Player News

Draft Scout College Football Player News

10/14/25 - QB Joey Aguilar, rSr/2026, Tennessee, (DS#7 QB)

Joey Aguilar stayed on the ground after a long run and the Tennessee fans held their breath until he sat up. Then they started chanting "Joey! Joey!" The quarterback who came through the transfer portal from Appalachian State via a short detour to UCLA has been everything they could have wanted. Aguilar quickly picked up the offense, which is humming at coach Josh Heupel's up-tempo pace as the No. 11 Vols go into Saturday's showdown at sixth-ranked Alabama. Heupel, who won a national title and was runner-up for the Heisman Trophy playing quarterback for Oklahoma in 2000, said Wednesday that Aguilar came in humble and ready to compete and worked to earn the trust of his new teammates after arriving in mid-May. Aguilar's experience helped. "He's handled it at a really high level," Heupel said. "Certainly, a lot more comfortable than when we first started." Heupel likes Aguilar's work ethic, aggressiveness and how the quarterback remains even-keeled from series to series.

"What I love about him, whether it's a good play, bad play, good series, bad series - same demeanor coming off on the sideline," Heupel said. Aguilar threw for 221 yards and a touchdown and ran for 59 yards in last week's 34-31 win over Arkansas. But it was the way he ran that had Heupel and more than 100,000 fans on the edge of their seats. On one run, Aguilar crashed into the communication system on the Razorbacks' sideline, cutting off headset communications for the rest of the game. Late in the game, Aguilar finished a 28-yard sprint up the middle of the field and came down with the football stuck in his midsection. "That ball was deep in my stomach," said Aguilar, who was able to smile recalling the moment an hour later. "That took the air out of me, for sure." Heupel appreciated the run to help seal the win: "I want him to get down once the play is over." Aguilar is off to a strong start. He has completed 64.8% of his passes (118 of 182) for 1,680 yards and 14 touchdowns. He has been intercepted five times, an area of concern coming into the season after he was picked off 14 times last season. He also has run for 117 yards and two more scores. He ranks 12th in the country averaging 280 yards passing per game, just ahead of Alabama's Ty Simpson (279.67). Tennessee also leads the nation in scoring with 48.2 points a game. - AP College Football

(DS#7 QB) rSr/2026