The Tennessee Volunteers have spent the majority of their fall camp in the middle of an unexpected quarterback battle. The plan was to have Nico Iamaleava under center once again with George MacIntyre and Jake Merklinger learning behind him. The Volunteers plan was then thrown on out when Nico Iamaleava and the program got into a dispute over his NIL value which led the former 5-star to UCLA.
The loss of Iamaleava was a pretty big blow for the Volunteers as it meant that the team would have to find a new start instead of continuing to improve in fall camp. The best thing that came out of Nico Iamaleava's decision was that his move to UCLA sent the Bruins projected starter Joey Aguilar into the transfer portal.
When Joey Aguilar quickly committed to Tennessee, it seemed as if the team had found its guaranteed starter but, Josh Heupel chose to let the quarterback battle play out in camp. As the season rapidly approaches, the Volunteers are nearing an official decision in naming Joey Aguilar the starter.
Tennessee is trending towards naming UCLA transfer Joey Aguilar as its starting quarterback, @PeteNakos_ reports🍊
— On3 (@On3sports) August 13, 2025
Intel: https://t.co/aX7EZnnDqC pic.twitter.com/ZA2QuzpnmT
The announcement won't come as a shock as Aguilar is the only quarterback in the room with significant playing experience. If George MacIntyre or Jake Merklinger were going to win the job it would've taken an incredible showing and while they showed plenty of promise, it was never going to be enough to hold off Aguilar.
Joey Aguilar comes with two seasons of starting experience after leading the Appalachian State Mountaineers. During his time as the starter, Aguilar showed incredible highs like passing for 33 touchdowns in his first year as the starter and clear flaws like throwing the most interceptions in College Football last season.
This season, Aguilar is going to need to take better care of the football otherwise, Josh Heupel may look to the bench to deploy Jake Merklinger or George MacIntyre. The good news for Aguilar is that playing in Josh Heupel's offense should lead to more explosive plays which will help him be more productive and efficient.
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