‘It doesn’t feel like that’s got a lot of optimism’ – Tennessee is still waiting on a big quarterback domino to fall

Are the Tennessee Vols going to pursue a transfer quarterback when the portal opens next month? The answer to that question is almost certainly yes. But there’s a caveat. There’s still a chance that senior quarterback Joey Aguilar, who started all 12 games for the Volunteers in 2025, could receive an additional season of eligibility. […]

Zach Ragan — Tennessee Volunteers News Writer
Add as preferred source on Google
Tennessee Vols football
Randy Sartin-Imagn Images

Are the Tennessee Vols going to pursue a transfer quarterback when the portal opens next month?

The answer to that question is almost certainly yes.

But there’s a caveat.

There’s still a chance that senior quarterback Joey Aguilar, who started all 12 games for the Volunteers in 2025, could receive an additional season of eligibility. It’s unclear, however, when Aguilar and Tennessee will hear a decision from the NCAA.

If a decision doesn’t come soon (the portal opens on Jan. 2), the Vols will essentially be forced to move on from Aguilar and pursue a transfer option to join true freshman George MacIntyre and five-star signee Faizon Brandon in Tennessee’s quarterback room next fall.

Vols insider shares latest thoughts on Joey Aguilar and Tennessee’s transfer approach

VolQuest’s Brent Hubbs was asked by a listener during this week’s Big Orange Rewind for an update on the timeline for Aguilar’s eligibility ruling from the NCAA.

“I don’t have one (a timeline),” said Hubbs. “And to be honest with you, in having conversations with Joey Aguilar this week, he doesn’t have one (a timeline). It doesn’t feel like that’s got a lot of optimism. It doesn’t feel like there’s a whole lot moving with that one right now in terms of kind of who’s pushing that or who’s driving that train. Joey doesn’t seem to know a whole lot about it when you ask him — or at least he doesn’t want to get specific about it.

“And when asked if he would be interested in coming back, he’s wanting to play this game (Music City Bowl), and then wherever the chips fall after that is where the chips fall. So, I think the portal window is going to be closed by the time that we get moving in that direction (a ruling from the NCAA) — at least that’s what it feels like right now. Anything can happen. But hey, it’s Christmas week. How many federal judge rulings are you going to get? How many court appearances are you going to get this week and next week? A lot of those agencies close at the end of the year for a couple of weeks. When you come back out of the bowl game, the portal opens three days after the bowl game. So it’s going to move fast here, and it doesn’t feel like anything’s immediately on the docket right now.”

It would make sense for the NCAA to quickly issue a ruling so Aguilar and Tennessee can make decisions. At this point, Aguilar doesn’t even know what options he has. And Tennessee is trying to a devise a quarterback plan without knowing if its starter from 2025 has the option to return next season.

But the NCAA rarely does what makes sense (or is fair to the student-athletes), so I wouldn’t count on Aguilar hearing a decision before the portal opens.

Related Articles