'It's all rat poison' - Vols QB Joey Aguilar breaks his silence and speaks publicly for first time since leaving UCLA for Tennessee

It's been nearly three months since quarterback Joey Aguilar left the UCLA Bruins to join the Tennessee Vols. 

Aguilar, who played at Appalachian State in 2023 and 2024, transferred to Tennessee in the wake of quarterback Nico Iamaleava's decision to transfer to UCLA. 

The former App State quarterback transferred to Tennessee without fanfare. He wasn't posting a bunch of stuff on social media about transferring, and he didn't speak to the media about his decision. 

Aguilar, as noted by various members of the Knoxville media this past week, has kept his head down and gone to work since arriving at Tennessee. 

The California native, though, broke his silence this week in an interview with WVLT. 

On Thursday evening, WVLT put out a clip of their interview with Aguilar, which serves as the first public comments from the senior quarterback. 

"They loved it," said Aguilar of his parents' reaction to his transfer to Tennessee. "My parents grew up a big football family. My dad fell in love with the Pittsburgh Steelers. I was a defensive guy -- I tried to be like Troy Polamalu growing up -- so I played D-end and linebacker. I had the long hair, trying to be like [Polamalu]. But to wear this orange, they're excited -- just as excited as I am."

Aguilar was then asked about the national media's low expectations for the Volunteers in 2025. 

"Yeah, it's all rat poison," said Aguilar. "When you get stuck in that stuff, you try to prove other people wrong. But the only thing that matters is the people in this building and this program. And we go out there and play for each other."