Vols insider weighs in on whether Tennessee QB Joey Aguilar will have a quick hook like the Joe Milton/Hendon Hooker change
The Vols named a new starting QB on Sunday night
The Tennessee Volunteers have their man for the 2025 season in Joey Aguilar. Josh Heupel named him the team’s starting quarterback on Sunday night after a battle this month for the job between Aguilar, Jake Merklinger, and George MacIntyre.
Aguilar was the frontrunner coming in based on his previous starting experience at Appalachian State for two years. However, some fans have mused on social media about how long of a leash Aguilar might have before
That topic came up on 104.5 on Tuesday with hosts Will Boling and Ramon Foster, who spoke on air with Volquest Tennessee insider Austin Price, and the question of whether a 2021 situation with Hendon Hooker and Joe Milton III might be in play here with Aguilar and Merklinger. Price doesn’t see that short of a leash for Aguilar.
“In my opinion, he doesn’t get a decent leash here. I don’t think this is something where they’re sitting there with three points late in the first half, Josh Heupel knee jerks it and says, ‘I’ve got to get somebody else in there’. He will give him ample time to run things. If we’re talking about a number of games that the offense sputters, then I think you would look at a quarterback change, but I think he’ll have a decent amount of rope going into the season with Joey Aguilar.” – Austin Price on 102.5
As Vol fans know, the 2021 season had a bumpy start with Milton at the helm, and a changing of the guards occurred during the team’s 41-34 loss to Pittsburgh, where Milton was injured and left the game. The switch to Hooker was one of the most impactful at any position around Tennessee in a long time, as he went on to jump start a brilliant passing attack over the next two seasons and was having a Heisman-esque season in 2022 before tearing his ACL in a loss to South Carolina.
Hopefully, Tennessee won’t be in the position to have a similar situation occur early in the season, as after Syracuse on August 30, Tennessee has games against ETSU, Georgia, and UAB at home. The first and last should be opportunities for the Vols’ offense to flex its muscles a bit, so there shouldn’t be an extended stretch of futility on the offensive side of the ball.
If there is, then it will likely be a long on Rocky Top.
