Chris LowApr 21, 2025, 08:04 PM ET
Close College football reporter Joined ESPN.com in 2007 Graduate of the University of TennesseeOpen Extended Reactions
A day after Nico Iamaleava finalized his move from Tennessee to UCLA, Joey Aguilar is doing the same from UCLA to Tennessee in what’s essentially a quarterback trade, sources told ESPN on Monday.
Aguilar transferred from Appalachian State to UCLA during the winter portal and was the front-runner to be the Bruins’ starting quarterback this fall. But UCLA announced the signing of Iamaleava on Sunday, and Aguilar entered the spring portal Monday.
Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said on April 12 when announcing the program was moving forward without Iamaleava that the Vols would add another quarterback in the spring portal. When Aguilar became available, Tennessee immediately showed interest. The 6-foot-3, 220-pound senior has one year of eligibility remaining after passing for 6,760 yards and 56 touchdowns the past two seasons at Appalachian State. Aguilar, originally from Antioch, California, started his career at Diablo Valley Community College.
The deal that Aguilar is finalizing to go to Tennessee is similar financially to the deal that he previously had at UCLA, sources told ESPN’s Pete Thamel. He had $1.2