We are less than one month away from the Tennessee football team kicking off fall camp and things can't get here any sooner. Joey Aguilar is yet to participate in his first practice with the team, but that's coming soon enough - fans have high hopes for him.
As you might have been able to guess, the comparisons to Nico Iamaleava are already coming in. Funny enough, Nico left Tennessee for UCLA, which forced Aguilar to leave Westwood. Now, he's getting ready to replace Iamaleava as the offensive leader in Knoxville.
Could this end up being a major blessing in disguise for the Vols and head man Josh Heupel? That's what plenty of people think, including the one and only Paul Finebaum. Recently, Finebaum predicted that Aguilar is going to end up putting up bigger and better numbers than Iamaleava did for UT in 2024. This sure would be something:
WOAH🤯: ESPN’s Paul Finebaum believes Tennessee QB Joey Aguilar will have a better season than Nico Iamaleava:
— FOX Sports Knoxville (@FOXSportsKnox) July 1, 2025
“I’ll take the over on Joey having a better season than Nico (last season).”
Tennessee may have gotten the BETTER QB out of the deal. 😳#ForTheFans pic.twitter.com/tQazmxh62A
The expectations are high for Joey Aguilar with Tennessee football this season
Keep in mind that while Iamaleava had his ups and downs in '24, he also played a huge role in the Vols reaching the College Football Playoff for the first time in program history. When the campaign was all said and done, he tossed for 2,616 yards and 19 touchdowns in Year 1 as the starter.
Aguilar, in his second season as the starter for App State, tossed for 3,003 yards and 23 touchdowns - however, his 14 INTs were a bit concerning. Aguilar can rip it, there's no denying that, but how tough will the adjustment to SEC football be for him?
That's a worry for a lot of people and Heupel hasn't even confirmed that he's 100 percent going to be QB1 this season. With that said, it's safe to assume he's going to end up winning the job. The pressure is going to be on for Aguilar to silence his doubters and play at a high level.
Iamaleava is also working to quiet a lot of people who think he'll have a rough go for the Bruins now that he's playing back home. That's nothing for Tennessee to worry about, as the full focus will be on Aguilar. Will it be a fall to remember for the new Vols' signal-caller? We sure hope Finebaum ends up being on the money with his prediction.