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The Hendon Hooker stat that shows why the biggest concern about new Tennessee Vols QB Joey Aguilar may be misguided

Originally posted on A to Z Sports | By Zach Ragan | Last updated Jul 10, 2025 12:06 PM ET

Transfer portal addition Joey Aguilar is considered the favorite to win the Tennessee Vols starting quarterback job during fall camp.

Aguilar, a former UCLA/Appalachian State quarterback who arrived at Tennessee earlier this spring, is battling redshirt freshman Jake Merklinger and true freshman George MacIntyre for the starting job.

Aguilar's two seasons of experience at Appalachian State give him a big advantage in this battle, which is the main reason that he's considered the favorite.

Those two seasons of experience, however, also come with a significant concern about Aguilar.

Aguilar passed for 6,760 yards and 56 touchdowns during his time at Appalachian State. He also threw 24 interceptions -- including 14 interceptions last season.

The interceptions are the biggest concern that fans and analysts have about Aguilar and his transition to the SEC (where he'll play against the top defensive competition in the sport).

“If Joey Aguilar needs to fix anything, I would say it’s the interceptions”@RyanTSylvia of @rockytopinsider https://t.co/Xr7X0U9bBP
— 97.7 ESPN The Zone (@977ESPN) July 9, 2025

A look back at former Vols quarterback Hendon Hooker's college stats, though, shows why fans shouldn't be overly concerned about Aguilar's interceptions.

Hooker played three seasons at Virginia Tech before spending the last two seasons of his career at Tennessee. During his three seasons with the Hokies, Hooker threw an interception every 44 pass attempts.

Aguilar, meanwhile, threw an interception every 35 pass attempts at Appalachian State.

(Note: Hooker had a much smaller sample size -- 312 pass attempts at Virginia Tech, compared to 850 pass attempts for Aguilar at Appalachian State.)

At Tennessee, Hooker threw an interception once every 126 pass attempts -- a significant improvement over his ratio at Virginia Tech.

We obviously don't know if Aguilar will experience a similar reduction in interceptions (if he wins the job this fall). But there’s at least some evidence of a quarterback significantly cutting down on his interception rate while playing in Josh Heupel’s offense at Tennessee.

This article first appeared on A to Z Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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