Quite a few Tennessee Vols players are still close with former UT quarterback Nico Iamaleava following the former five-star recruit’s highly publicized departure from Knoxville earlier this year.

And that’s not a surprise.

Vols head coach Josh Heupel pointed out at SEC Media Days in July that Tennessee’s players cared about Iamaleava.

“Our football team, they cared about Nico,” said Heupel. “And Nico is going to be a great player. He’s going to have a great career. And I love Nico. I think it’s hard for your players in that moment (when Nico transferred). But I think in leadership of any kind, clear, consistent, transparent communication, and also timely [communication] that allows your people to handle it the best that they can [is important].”

While some of Tennessee’s players remain close with Iamaleava, they’re happy to have Joey Aguilar in town.

Aguilar, who left UCLA for Tennessee when Iamaleava became a Bruin, won the starting quarterback job at UT during fall camp. And through the first two games of the season, he’s looked like a perfect fit in Heupel’s offense.

Joey Aguilar is more “charismatic” than Nico Iamaleava

A Tennessee source told CBS Sports’ Chris Hummer and John Talty this week that Aguilar is popular with his new teammates because he “gets the ball around” and he’s “more charismatic.”

“The kids are going to be slow to say it because some of them are friends (with Nico),” said the source to CBS Sports. “But (Joey) gets the ball around more. He hangs out with more people. He’s more charismatic. He doesn’t keep to himself.” 

Aguilar certainly seems to be more aggressive on the field. Iamaleava was a bit slow to pull the trigger, at times, resulting in off-target throws or sacks. Aguilar, on the other hand, has much more of a gunslinger mentality.

The off-the-field stuff isn’t surprising, either. It always felt like Iamaleava was trying to fit in at Tennessee while being the quarterback that fans and the national media expected him to be. Iamaleava was dealing with unique pressure due to the fact that he was essentially the poster boy for NIL. If he was keeping to himself, it was probably to gain some respite from the high expectations and constant media attention.

Either way, it seems obvious that Aguilar, for whatever reason, is a more natural fit at Tennessee.

What matters, though, is wins. Aguilar is 2-0 so far as the Vols’ starter. If he can lead Tennessee to a win against Georgia on Saturday, he may go down as one of the most popular Volunteers of all time.

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Zach Ragan