Tennessee QB Joey Aguilar Comments On His First Start With The Vols

Joey Aguilar performed well in his first start with the Volunteers. The UCLA transfer sliced and diced the Syracuse defense for 247 yards and three touchdowns including a 73 yard strike to Braylon Staley. Aguilar showed he can move the ball down the field, execute at a high level, and take shots down the field when his opportunities presented themselves. Aguilar also did a really good job of taking care of the football only having one turnover which was a fumble on a mesh point exchange with the running back. Besides that, it was a very clean game and a great performance. 

“I felt like I did well. You know, I was very good defense. Syracuse is a  very good program. So, when they gave me the shot, you know, I took advantage of it. Executed on some of them. Uh gave Star a little jump ball, came down with it. I felt good. A lot of things to work on, but overall, I think I felt decent,” said Aguilar. 

It was a dawn of a new era for the Vols and their offense didn’t miss a beat. It was explosive, dominant, and made big plays all things that encompass a Josh Heupel offense. With a new chapter for the Vols, it was also the start of a new chapter for Aguilar. 

“Just a new chapter. You know, everybody got a step in a chapter in their life. You know, this is the next one. My transfer from App State to UCLA to now is just another chapter in my life,” said Aguilar. “Coming out here and representing the Big T and GBO is just, you know, grateful. You know, I'm happy for the win. A lot to work on, a lott of things to clean up, but we're going to enjoy this one. Go back, watch film, and get better.”

When watching Aguilar play you could tell he was confident and didn’t have any nerves playing in the game. He was composed making laser sharp throws in tight windows and taking advantage of the defense in every part of the field. 

“Yeah, I mean confidence, I got that no matter what, you know what I mean? Uh but going to execute uh you know we're our goal is to put up points every every drive we touch the ball. So uh just going out there and like I said executing and doing our job just keeps everything rolling,” said Aguilar. 

Of course, there are always things to improve and work on, but the early look is that the Volunteers will be just fine at the quarterback position and the offense will still be really good with Aguilar at the helm.