A wild stat helps explain why Josh Heupel stuck with Joey Aguilar early in the second half of Tennessee Vols’ laugher over UAB
The Vols’ signal caller has been impeccably consistent.
The Tennessee Volunteers continued their run of playing exciting and high-level football on Saturday, defeating the UAB Blazers 56-24 at Neyland Stadium.
The Vols took a 42-7 lead into the locker room at halftime after scoring touchdowns on six of seven drives in the half. Joey Aguilar was solid again, completing 13-20 passes for 179 yards and two touchdowns with one interception in the half. With the Vols up so much, it seemed as though that could have been it for Agular and the rest of the first team offense for the day.
Except it wasn’t. Aguilar and his first-string mates came back out for the offense’s opening drive of the third quarter. And as they’d done almost all day, they found the end zone. A completion to Chris Brazzell II for 22 yards got him over 200 for the day. A 17-yard strike to Star Thomas put Tennessee up 49-10 and finally ended the day for Aguilar and most of Tennessee’s offensive starters.
So, why did Aguilar come back in for one more drive? A look at a recent statistical trend might explain it.
Tennessee QB Joey Aguilar extended his career streak of 28 consecutive games with at least 200 yards passing
Aguilar has come to Tennessee and been a revelation at the quarterback position, helping the Vols’ offense take a giant leap forward after consistent struggles, particularly in the passing game, for much of the 2023 and 2024 seasons.
But his offensive proficiency has extended far beyond his time in Knoxville. Aguilar played in 25 games at Appalachian State from 2023 to 2024. His first came against Gardner-Webb, in which he completed 11 of 13 passes for 174 yards and four touchdowns in App State’s 45-24 win. For the rest of his 24 games in Boone, North Carolina, he topped 200 yards passing in every game.
That’s a pretty remarkable statistic, all things considered. And that’s especially the case when you compare it to what happened with Tennessee’s offense last season under Nico Iamaleava. The Vols’ 2024 starter had eight games last year when he threw for under 200 yards.
It’s clear that Tennessee has a true difference-maker at the sport’s most important position this season. And the clues had been there for years, as it turns out.
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