Tennessee QB battle: Josh Heupel breaks down decision to start Joey Aguilar

Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel broke down the decision to name Joey Aguilar the starting quarterback on Tuesday. The UCLA transfer spent a brief time in LA before coming to Knoxville in what looks like a de facto trade for former Tennessee signal caller Nico Iamaleava.

When he starred at Appalachian State, Aguilar showed promise as a top tier quarterback. Now, he fits the mold in what Heupel searched for ahead of the 2025 season.

“Ultimately in the pass game there’s certain things that they may be most confident in as you game plan week to week,” Heupel said Tuesday. “That’s a part of it, but some things that you put in to attack certain things that you see on film, you try to get them to understand the why behind it. Offensively it changes from year to year. You change from year to year. It starts with the quarterback and offensive line and where you can put your skill players to have success.

“Joey, through this week and really what he’s done through training camp, learning what we’re doing offensively. As we get ready for Syracuse here at the end of the week, then making sure that the things that are in play he feels good about, and I think that’s one of the things with young quarterbacks and with new quarterbacks is getting them to be transparent in those things.”

It was assumed Aguilar would grab the starting quarterback spot when he arrived in Tennessee. However Heupel conceded it was a tough battle throughout the room.

“First of all, that entire room competed at a really high level,” Heupel said. “They competed the right way, too. They pushed each other in a positive way in the meeting room, out on the practice field. I think our team has great confidence in all of those guys.

“Joey, through the course of training camp each and every day, continued to grow and take steps and understand what we’re doing and comfort level. Played well in the scrimmages, had good command, and that ultimately led to the decision that we made.”

In two seasons at Appalachian State, Aguilar threw for 6,760 yards, 56 touchdowns, 24 interceptions and a 60.1% completion percentage. He threw for a career high 33 touchdowns in 2023.

“I said it a second ago, but I’ve got great trust in all those guys, and the strength of one position room, quarterback included, can never just be one guy. Those guys have all grown, but I think Joey coming in May, having to learn the offense throughout the late spring, summertime, getting his feet on the grass with our guys, learning how we practice, but also growing each day – just continued to trend upward in his comfort and control and command of what we’re doing. That’s decision-making and accuracy with the football, our checks that he controls. You put all of that together, and that’s ultimately why we made the decision.”