The biggest news that Tennessee football has faced all offseason is whether Joey Aguilar will be back next season. Aguilar led the SEC in passing yards in 2025 and seemed to fit very well in Josh Heupel's offense. All signs have pointed towards him being gone, though. It’s hard to ignore that Josh Heupel went all in on Sam Leavitt before losing him to LSU, and there were rumors of Ty Simpson being involved with Tennessee as well. If Aguilar was surely going to come back, Heupel wouldn't have gone all in on top portal quarterbacks.
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Tennessee has been waiting on updates about Aguilar and his NCAA eligibility lawsuit. Aguilar spent two years at Diablo Valley College in California, which has left him ineligible. He’s one of the plaintiffs, alongside Vandy’s Diego Pavia, arguing that time spent in junior college shouldn’t count against a player’s NCAA eligibility.
After weeks of waiting for clarity, we finally have some concrete news on Joey Aguilar’s eligibility case. The latest development is that Aguilar is officially scheduled to appear before a federal judge on February 10th for his lawsuit.
NEWS: Joey Aguilar’s court date is set for February 10 regarding his eligibility for next season. pic.twitter.com/yIRmobM43j
— Vol Report (@AllVolReport) January 18, 2026
Joey Aguilar would change everything in 2026
Now that we finally know where and when this will take place, it's time to dream about how great it would be if Aguilar were back in 2026. Tennessee has already aced their offseason, adding multiple high-level additions to the defense, and the offense hasn't lost much.
Looking at the bigger picture, Tennessee is already ranked No. 20 in a preseason poll, so where would they fall if they had a veteran signal-caller with a full offseason to gain even more knowledge of Heupel's scheme?
National outlets already love where the Vols stand going into next fall with Heupel and Jim Knowles, but where they push back, and rightfully so, is what Tennessee's quarterback will look like. If Tennessee for sure has Aguilar, they could catapult themselves into the top 10.
The Vols have added an insurance policy, Ryan Staub from Colorado, in case Aguilar isn't going to be around next fall. However, it's unlikely he ends up being the guy, as George MacIntyre or Faizon Brandon will likely take over.
In the time being, all we can do is wait till February and hope that the the Vols can catch a break and have one more season with Aguilar.