Tennessee quarterback Joey Aguilar needed less than two minutes to throw his first touchdown pass at Neyland Stadium.
Aguilar offered a half-pump fake – just enough of a hitch to freeze a pair of East Tennesse State defenders – before threading a 21-yard pass to wide-open Chris Brazzell II in the end zone with 13:08 left in the first quarter. That started a 72-17 blowout on Sept. 6 that served its purpose of building hype for Saturday's showdown with No. 6 Georgia.
More than 25 family members – including his 82-year-old grandmother and former Appalachian State teammates – formed what Aguilar called a "deep section" in the orange-and-white checkerboard. This is what happens when a quarterback goes from Diablo Valley College to Appalachian State to Tennessee over a six-year period – the less-publicized long-winding journey made possible by junior college football and the transfer portal. Lydia Aguilar – Joey's mother – had to fan away tears before the game even started.
"There are really no words to explain it," Lydia said in a pre-game interview with ESPN's Stephanie Otey. "It's just a great, great feeling to see your son working to where he came from to where he's at right now."
Aguilar is one piece of the "quarterback trade" that defined the spring. Nico Iamaleava – the five-star quarterback who led the Vols to a 10-win season and the College Football Playoff – transferred to UCLA on April 20. Aguilar – who transferred from Appalachian State to UCLA – then transferred a second time to Tennessee the next day.
back in the checkerboards.
— Tennessee Football (@Vol_Football) September 6, 2025
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So far, Tennessee is winning. Aguilar led the Vols to blowout victories against Syracuse and ETSU the first two weeks. He has 535 passing yards, five TDs and no interceptions.
"Just to be able to go out there, and just play football knowing that makes them happy and representing Tennessee and them, brings a lot of joy and makes me super grateful to be out there," Aguilar said in the ETSU post-game press conference.
Now, he has a chance to do what no Tennessee quarterback has done since Joshua Dobbs launched a 43-yard Hail Mary to Jauan Jennings for a 34-31 victory on Oct. 1, 2016.
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Joey Aguilar at Diablo Valley: 'It's not like Last Chance U'
In 2021, Mike Darr was searching for a quarterback to add depth at Diablo Valley, a California Community College Athletic Association (3C2A) program based in Pleasant Hill, Calif. Darr watched Aguilar at Freedom High School in Oakley, Calif. Darr regretted not making a stronger recruiting push. Aguilar had played two seasons at City College of San Francisco but was considering becoming a firefighter instead.
"When I called him, that was our conversation," Darr told Sporting News. "He was leaning toward that, but he had a couple guys on our team – the JCs out in California there are five, six JCS all within a 30-minute drive. With Bay Area traffic, that turns into a lot longer than that."
Darr dispels misconceptions about junior college football, especially in California.
Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers played at Butte. Darr missed coaching against Bills quarterback Josh Allen – who played at Reedley – by one year. The talent pool spans from a 19-year-old freshman to a military kid to a FBS bounce-back sophomore rehabbing an injury. Yet the competition in the Bay Area scene is heated. It is what Darr labels "the SEC of JUCO sports."
"It's not like the 'Last Chance U' that you saw where they've got dorms and scholarships and all that," Darr said. "These kids all grew up playing against each other in high school. A lot of those rivalries are there. Sometimes you're playing against your buddy who had a better opportunity at another JC. Sometimes you want to beat that guy even more than some guy you maybe don't like."
Now, consider what Dobbs told Sporting News about the Tennessee-Georgia rivalry in 2022.
"There are so many guys from Georgia who go to Tennessee," Dobbs said. "You either weren't recruited by Georgia or you just got so tired of seeing that ugly red growing up in Georgia."
Aguilar eventually won the starting job at Diablo Valley and made his start on Oct. 15, 2021 against Laney. He threw a 67-yard TD pass to Baylei Coston 55 seconds into the game in a 54-29 blowout. Aguilar finished with 323 yards and three TDs. From there, Aguilar developed in the 2021 and 2022 seasons. Darr saw Aguilar make all the throws – vertical shots, deep crossing routes, RPOs – the whole package.
"It was what Tennessee is seeing right now," Darr said. "Here is what we think he can do – and he went out and did it," Darr said. "This kid is very humble, but he believes he can beat anybody. I don't know if that's a fair statement to make. I'm humble – but I can beat anybody."
Darr laughs at the duality of the concept. But he knows that's who Aguilar is. Aguilar passed for 6,760 yards, 61 TDs and 24 TDs in two seasons with Appalachian State before coming back home to UCLA.
Or so he thought.
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Inside Joey Aguilar's hot start at Tennessee
Darr – now the defensive coordinator at Harlan High School in San Antonio, Texas – also understands the mechanics of Aguilar's transfer from UCLA to Tennessee. When Iamaleava transferred to UCLA, Darr believes Aguilar's JUCO experience allowed for an easy decision – one made more frequently in the transfer portal era. It is about knowing the politics behind these moves.
"These kids have been playing football for a long time, and they've been coached for a long time and you can tell how they're being talked to and the opportunities they've been given," Darr said.
Aguilar took the risk. Darr sent Aguilar a text before the opener against Syracuse.
"There are going to be two of us that aren't going to be surprised one bit at what you're going to do there."
Aguilar will be propped up against Iamaleava each week. UCLA is 0-2, and Iamaleava has 391 passing yards, two TDs and two interceptions. Tennessee averages 58.5 points and 605 yards per game through two weeks. To be fair, the Vols averaged 60 points and 589 yards through two weeks with Iamaleava last season.
According to Pro Football Focus, Aguilar is 4 of 7 for 173 yards, three TDs and no interceptions on passes of 20 yards or more. That deep shot is a huge part of the Josh Heupel offense at Tennessee. Brazzell, Mike Matthews and Braylon Staley all have more than 100 yards receiving, and Star Thomas and DeSean Bishop each have more than 150 yards rushing. Aguilar is a distributor and an emerging leader.
"He's a great teammate, that's who he's been from the time that he got here, developing relationships as he was first onboarding into our program," Heupel said at his press conference Monday. "He's certainly a guy that cares about the guys that are around him. To go cheer on the other quarterbacks, the other young guys that were getting an opportunity, it speaks to who we know him to be on a day-to-day basis and I think that's important in your leadership from your team."
Aguilar soaked all that in after the victory against ETSU. He hugged his mother and his 82-year-old grandmother. He smiled through the first post-game press conference when asked about that first Neyland Stadium experience and made a quick self-correction.
"It's one of the – the greatest stadium in the sport," Aguilar said. "Just go out and take it all in - just running out there and seeing how packed it was, it was awesome."
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Now, comes Georgia. The Bulldogs have won the last four meetings at Neyland Stadium by an average of 30.5 points per game. Win this game, and Aguilar's cult hero status in Knoxville will be at an all-time high.
"I'm super excited," Aguilar said. "That's another team on our schedule that we have to go and play. Excited for the week and preparation, just going out there and trusting my guys and playing how we play."
That's the rehearsed press-conference answer we're accustomed to, but Darr knows exactly what Aguilar will do when he walks into that environment on Saturday – the kind of no-fear attitude he saw at Diablo Valley.
"He's the kind of kid that is going to walk into that situation and go, 'How awesome is this?'" Darr said. "He is just an unflappable kid who enjoys what he's doing, cares about his teammates, the guys around him and doesn't want to let them down."