Tennessee names Joey Aguilar starting quarterback ahead of 2025 season

Tennessee has named Joey Aguilar its starting quarterback for the 2025 campaign, according to VolQuest. Aguilar earned the starting nod over redshirt freshman Jake Merklinger and true freshman George MacIntyre.

Aguilar has had a rollercoaster of an offseason. In the winter, he transferred from Appalachian State to UCLA. However, after former Tennessee QB Nico Iamaleava transferred to UCLA, Aguilar entered the portal once again.

Ironically, Aguilar ultimately found a home with Tennessee, effectively swapping spots with Iamaleava. Before transferring to UCLA, Aguilar spent two seasons at Appalachian State. In his two years with the Mountaineers, Aguilar amassed 6,760 passing yards and 56 touchdowns while throwing 24 interceptions.

In the ground game, Aguilar recorded 456 total rushing yards and five scores. His 3,757 passing yards in the 2023 campaign are the most in a single season in program history. He also shattered the record for passing touchdowns (33) in a single season that year.

Aguilar is easily the most experienced QB on Tennessee’s roster this year. Merklinger was Tennessee’s third-string QB last season. He only made two appearances, completing 6-of-his-9 pass attempts for 48 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions.

As a true freshman, MacIntyre has no collegiate experience. In a pass-heavy Tennessee system, Aguilar has a chance to be one of the most prolific passers in the country this fall.

Tennessee averaged 221.2 passing yards per game last season, ranking No. 77 in the country. Volunteers head coach Josh Heupel will undoubtedly look to ramp up the team’s passing production in the 2025 campaign. In July, Heupel reflected on the moment he knew Aguilar was a good fit for Tennessee.

“I think the maturity that he demonstrated on the phone, as you get a chance to go through his history, what matters to him and what he’s looking for, what he cares about, fit the culture piece of it,” Heupel said. “Obviously, studied the film as well. So I felt like it had a chance to be a really good fit at that point.”

Heupel isn’t the only person who’s confident that Joey Aguilar will find success at Tennessee. This summer, ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit revealed his expectations for Aguilar in the upcoming season.

“He’s going into a great system,” Herbstreit said. “I mean, Josh Heupel puts the quarterback in a spot to be successful with the system that they run, so I wouldn’t be shocked to see him do well.

“Also, he’s going in with, I don’t want to say nothing to lose — the expectations are always high at Tennessee — but they’re going to be in his corner. That fanbase is going to be in his corner after Nico kind of left them the way he did.”

Tennessee will kick off the 2025 season with a showdown against Syracuse at noon ET on Aug. 30. The game will air live on ABC.