Will he start?
What a whirlwind of a ten days.
The Nico Iamaleava saga played out on a national stage, once again delivering something that really hadn’t been seen to this point in the NIL era. The former No. 1 overall prospect was the first to publicly sign a multi-million dollar deal with a school a few years back, now he becomes the first high-profile player to be told to take a hike after demanding more money.
The unique situation ended up creating a quarterback trade of sorts, with Tennessee landing former Appalachian State quarterback Joey Aguilar on Monday night. Aguilar transferred to UCLA this offseason and went through the spring as the assumed starter. But then Iamaleava — a California kid and former five-star prospect — became available.
DeShaun Foster jumped at the chance, and ended up adding little brother Madden Iamaleava from Arkansas as well. The Iamaleava family and amateur-hour family friends acting as agents are UCLA’s problem now.
Joey Aguilar’s production
Tennessee is left with two young quarterbacks without any college experience, and now veteran starter Joey Aguilar. The 6-3, 220 pound quarterback threw for 3,003 yards as a junior and 3,757 yards as a sophomore. Aguilar has tossed 56 touchdowns over his last two seasons at Appalachian State.
Aguilar has added some yardage on the ground as well, running for over 200 yards in each of his past two seasons. He’s athletic enough to make a difference with his legs, with long rushes of 25 and 49 yards in 2023 and 2024, respectively.
Aguilar ranked 49th in ESPN’s QBR rating in 2024 and 24th in 2023. The entire Appalachian State program took a step backwards in 2024, fading from a 9-5 mark in 2023 to a 5-6 record last year. That resulted in head coach Shawn Clark being fired, and Aguilar looking elsewhere for his next opportunity.
Turnovers have been a big issue
Aguilar isn’t afraid to take chances, as evidenced by his interception rate. Labeled a bit of a ‘riverboat gambler’ by an ESPN broadcaster against Clemson in 2024, the nickname checks out. Aguilar tossed 14 interceptions last season for Appalachian State, which followed ten picks back in 2023.
Taking care of the ball will obviously be a point of emphasis for Josh Heupel as he learns his new quarterback.
How quickly can Aguilar learn the offense?
Aguilar transitioned from Appalachian State to UCLA from December to April. Now he gets to transition from UCLA to Tennessee from April to August. How does that process look? We know the Tennessee offense is unique in both scheme and pace. We’ve heard that quarterbacks struggle to get fully up to tempo in Heupel’s offense and it takes time to get to full song.
Will he be the best option by the fall? Or will Jake Merklinger or George MacIntrye still hold an advantage? Merklinger has been in the offense for over a year now, taking a redshirt season in 2024. MacIntrye joined the team this winter and got his feet wet in the spring, even outplaying Merklinger in the Orange and White Game according to those in attendance.
Tennessee did what they had to do in adding a veteran arm to the quarterback room. Now it’s up Aguilar to get up to speed. That’s a tall task without much time to get it done, which likely keeps this a three-man battle until the season opener on August 30th.