Report: Tennessee meeting with former UCLA QB Joey Aguilar after Nico Iamaleava transfer

UCLA officially adding QB Nico Iamaleava in the portal on Sunday changed things for QB Joey Aguilar, who transferred this offseason, as he intends to transfer again per news on Monday. Now, it could all come full circle based on a reported meeting for him later today.

ESPN’s Chris Low reported the interest that Tennessee would have in Aguilar upon his official entry into the portal. Low later posted a quote tweet noting that the two sides will now be having a meeting later on Monday.

“Two sides slated to have talks later Monday,” wrote Low.

This would make for potentially a crazy 180 for both those at Tennessee and UCLA. The Volunteers came into this spring expecting Iamaleava to be their second-year starter while the Bruins brought Aguilar back to the west coast to be theirs. Instead, there’s a chance that the two quarterbacks end up swapping teams now on the opposite sides on the country between the SEC and Big Ten.

That said, Aguilar will have several suitors beyond just the Vols as one of the better quarterbacks to enter the portal during the spring cycle. On3’s Pete Nakos has since reported that Wake Forest and Tulane will also be in on his transfer recruitment, which’ll be his second of this offseason.

Aguilar spent the past two seasons at Appalachian State after starting his career at Diablo Valley Community College. As the Mountaineers’ starter, Aguilar would complete 60.1% of his throws for 6,760 yards, good for 270.4 per game, with 56 touchdowns and 24 interceptions, which would put him fifth in school history in both passing yards and passing touchdowns despite just the pair of years spent there.

With that, Aguilar would enter the portal in December at No. 665 and as the No. 45 QB per On3’s Industry Ranking of 2025’s Top Transfer Portal Players. He’d later commit to UCLA and spend the spring projected as the Bruins’ QB1 for 2025. However, once the storyline started with Iamaleava, UCLA was quickly connected to him with Aguilar aware that they could end up with him, which they eventually did as of yesterday.

Now, though, in transferring again, his stock should only improve. Aguilar is among the best to have entered his name in at the position over the last week since the opening of the spring window.

Aguilar will have options once his name is officially in the portal later today to start this week. Still, the Volunteers being among them is just the latest turn in how things happened with Iamaleava leaving for Los Angeles as it has led to another option by way of transfer on Rocky Top.