New report details how Tennessee’s players and coaches reacted to the shot UCLA head coach DeShaun Foster took at QB Joey Aguilar
The Athletic reported in July that UCLA Bruins coach DeShaun Foster had some concerns about quarterback Joey Aguilar’s habits in the film room. Aguilar, who won the Tennessee Vols’ starting quarterback job after joining the program as a transfer addition during the offseason, left UCLA in April after the Bruins landed former Volunteers quarterback Nico […]
The Athletic reported in July that UCLA Bruins coach DeShaun Foster had some concerns about quarterback Joey Aguilar’s habits in the film room.
Aguilar, who won the Tennessee Vols’ starting quarterback job after joining the program as a transfer addition during the offseason, left UCLA in April after the Bruins landed former Volunteers quarterback Nico Iamaleava out of the transfer portal.
“UCLA had brought in Appalachian State transfer QB Joey Aguilar last winter in hopes he could spark the offense, but halfway through spring, Foster wasn’t sold on his quarterback’s connection to the receivers and his film study habits,” wrote The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman in late July.
On Wednesday, the Knoxville News Sentinel published a terrific story by Adam Sparks that details Aguilar’s football journey — from his days as a barely recruited quarterback to becoming a starter in the SEC.
Within that story, Sparks revealed how Tennessee’s coaches and players reacted to Foster’s “concerns” about Aguilar’s habits in the film room.
“After Iamaleava was added to the roster, The Athletic reported Bruins coach DeShaun Foster wasn’t impressed with Aguilar’s film study habits,” wrote Sparks. “Weeks later, Tennessee coaches and teammates thought that was laughable, especially after seeing Aguilar spend 14 hours per day, six days a week in the football facility watching game film and working out.”
All of Tennessee’s coaches and players have spoken highly of Aguilar during the past several weeks, so it’s no surprise that they responded this way to Foster’s claim.
Foster’s claim about Aguilar feels like something he leaked to justify Iamaleava essentially being promised the job, which is what led to Aguilar’s departure from UCLA. Only Foster knows for sure if that was the case, but it definitely seems that way.
Either way, it’s clear that the folks inside of Tennessee’s locker room don’t feel the same way.
Tennessee Volunteers News
New report reveals how big of an NIL raise the Tennessee Vols were willing to give Nico Iamaleava before the QB transferred to UCLA
UCLA Bruins quarterback Nico Iamaleava will earn around $1.2 million in 2025, according to a recent report from On3’s Pete Nakos. That’s half of what Iamaleava was expected to earn had he stayed at Tennessee for the 2025 season. He was reportedly going to earn around $2.4 million with the Vols as a redshirt sophomore […]
