Mike Matthews isn't a man of too many words, so his endorsement of new starting quarterback Joey Aguilar holds a lot of weight.
"I would say when he first got here he wasn't like nervous or scared. He was real open, and he was trying to get to know his teammates," Matthews said. "You're not going to be cool with everybody at one time, but he took his time and he earned his spot,"
The sophomore wide receiver is actually a fan of all the players in the quarterback room and believes that it was a tough competition. If there was any concern that Aguilar was pushed in camp, Matthews' comments should clear that up.
Tennessee sophomore WR Mike Matthews on how to describe Joey Aguilar's game: It's hard to describe, man. He's just ... he's Joey. He's good.
— Wes Rucker (@wesruckerTBA) August 26, 2025
"I would say....he's...I don't know, he's Joey. I feel like I can't really explain how he is, but he's a good quarterback," Matthews said. "There are truly three really good quarterbacks and it just so happened that he earned the spot. But I feel like everybody in the quarterback room is good."
Can the passing game pass the test?
There's no secret that Josh Heupel wants an explosive, downfield passing attack. Much of the success of the Vols offense is based around the ability to hit those big shots when the opportunity presents itself.
One of the reasons that Aguilar will be starting Saturday is that he's shown the ability to complete the deep ball or at least give the receivers a chance to make a play on it. If there was any criticism of Nico Iamaleava that stuck, it was his tendency to overthrow the deep shots and not give his receivers a chance to make a play on the ball.
Matthews knows that the passing game is going to be in the spotlight immediately and warns fans that sometimes it won't look pretty.
"In football games, in the SEC, it's never going to be perfect," Matthews added. "Last year I was kind of unsure, nervous, excited...it was a lot of mixed emotions. But now I just know you've got to be ready for the moment."
The good news is that the wide receiver looks to be as healthy as it's been all offseason heading into the opener against Syracuse. Matthews, Braylon Staley and Chris Brazzell II have all missed time during camp with various injuries. Now all three appear to be ready for Saturday and Matthews says they will be ready for every challenge that comes their way.
"We're not worried about the outside noise," Matthews said. "Everybody else is going to have their opinion, but we know what we have in the receiver room."