Following an offseason stuffed with turmoil, Tennessee football has named its starting quarterback for its 2025 season opener.
Joey Aguilar will earn the beginning for the No. 18 Vols after they open the season in opposition to Syracuse on Saturday, Aug. 30, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta within the Aflac Kickoff Game. UT football introduced coach Josh Heupel’s choice on X, previously Twitter, on Aug. 17.
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“At the helm,” the submit stated, together with a photograph of Aguilar in Neyland Stadium.
According to the Knoxville News Sentinel, a part of the USA TODAY Network, the staff was knowledgeable of the choice to start out Aguilar throughout a staff assembly on Aug. 17.
Aguilar beat out redshirt freshman Jake Merklinger and freshman George MacIntyre for the starting gig. The UCLA switch and former Appalachian State standout was the 2023 Sun Belt Newcomer of the Year. He threw for 6,760 yards and 56 touchdowns in two seasons for the Mountaineers.
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He transferred to UCLA over the offseason, however then transferred once more to the Vols following Nico Iamaleava’s transfer to UCLA in April.
The 6-foot-3, 220-pounder from Antioch, California, walked on at Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill, California, in 2021, and proceeded to throw for nearly 3,000 yards in two seasons earlier than lastly incomes his long-awaited Division I scholarship at Appalachian State.
Joey Aguilar stats
Here’s a take a look at Aguilar’s stats throughout his two seasons with Appalachian State:
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2023 (App State): 293-for-460 passing (63.7%) for 3,757 yards, 33 touchdowns and 10 interceptions; 81 rushes for 249 yards and three touchdowns
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2024 (App State): 218-for-390 passing (55.9%) for 3,003 yards, 23 touchdowns and 14 interceptions; 59 rushes for 207 yards and two touchdowns
This article initially appeared on USA TODAY: Joey Aguilar named Tennessee football starting quarterback vs Syracuse