Tennessee Vols quarterback Joey Aguilar is still waiting to find out if he’ll be eligible for the 2026 college football season.

At this point, it’s a decision that could go either way. And the decision could come at any time.

The timing is tricky for everyone involved — especially for Aguilar, who doesn’t know if he needs to be preparing for the 2026 NFL Draft, or to be Tennessee’s quarterback this fall.

Even if a ruling is issued that allows Aguilar to play in 2026, the NCAA could still appeal the decision.

(Note: There’s only so much physical preparation Aguilar can do right now as he recovers from a recent surgery to remove a benign tumor.)

As a result of the uncertainty, Aguilar, according to On3’s Chris Low, will participate in the NFL scouting combine later this month.

“Aguilar’s plan is to attend the combine for only a 48-hour window next week, instead of the normal five-day window, so that he doesn’t jeopardize his eligibility, sources said,” reported Low. “Even if Aguilar receives a favorable ruling from Heagerty this week, Aguilar still plans to attend the combine for only two days in case the ruling is overturned on appeal.”

While Aguilar won’t throw at the combine, he will get to talk to NFL teams and go through interviews, which is equally important.

Joey Aguilar is in a situation he shouldn’t be in right now

This whole situation with Aguilar is truly absurd.

To me, this is open and shut. If you look at the situation objectively — which means putting aside your thoughts on the current state of college football — it’s clear that Aguilar should be granted another season of eligibility.

Aguilar, along with former Vanderbilt Commodores quarterback Diego Pavia, was allowed to play last season because the NCAA granted a waiver that “allowed eligibility through the 2025-26 academic year for junior college athletes who would have exhausted eligibility during the 2024-25 academic year” (via ESPN).

Last season was Aguilar’s third season of NCAA football. Without the waiver that essentially said that junior college years don’t count toward NCAA eligibility, Aguilar wouldn’t have been able to play last season.

So why shouldn’t Aguilar automatically get another season of eligibility? If his two seasons of junior college football at Diablo Valley (plus two seasons at City College of San Francisco, where Aguilar didn’t play due to a redshirt season and the COVID season) didn’t prevent him from being eligible in 2025, why would it prevent him from being eligible for a fourth season of NCAA football in 2026?

Again, it seems open and shut to me.

I know there are all kinds of arguments about 25-year-olds playing college football. I get it. I think most fans over the age of 30 yearn for the college football we grew up with, but there’s no putting the genie back in the bottle. This is what college football is now, for better or worse. And based on the precedent that was set by allowing Aguilar, Pavia, and others to play last season, I don’t see how there’s any way the Tennessee quarterback can be kept off the field for the Vols this fall.