Surprising update emerges on Joey Aguilar, anticipated arrival at Tennessee after transfer

After committing to Tennessee out of the transfer portal, Joey Aguilar has not yet joined the Volunteers program. However, that could change next month, according to ESPN’s Chris Low.

Low reported Aguilar continued to take online classes at Appalachian State after he arrived at UCLA. That means he could join the Tennessee program in mid to late May. UCLA’s classes go into June because the school is on the quarters system, meaning Aguilar would have had to wait until the summer to arrive in Knoxville on that schedule.

But since he’s still finishing his degree at Appalachian State, the door could be open to an earlier venture to Tennessee. Aguilar’s commitment came after the departure of Nico Iamaleava, who left Tennessee amid an NIL dispute and committed to UCLA.

Looks like Tennessee QB Joey Aguilar could join the team earlier than expected. If he earns his degree at App. State, where he continued to take online classes after transferring to UCLA, he could be on campus at Tennessee in mid to late May. UCLA's classes extend into June.

— Chris Low (@ClowESPN) April 24, 2025

Aguilar transferred to UCLA in December after spending two seasons at Appalachian State. However, he opted to enter the transfer portal after the Bruins signed Iamaleava on Sunday. Iamaleava likely would’ve started over Aguilar next season.

After reports surfaced saying the expectation was Iamaleava would end up at UCLA, Bruins coach DeShaun Foster addressed his conversations with Aguilar. He, of course, committed to the program as the likely starting quarterback, and Foster spoke highly of what he saw through spring practice.

“We talked to Joey, you know, just like every other quarterback that’s in that room, and discuss what’s going on or what’s not going on, and how he’s practicing and everything,” Foster told reporters. “So I like where Joey’s at right now, and hopefully he can keep progressing at spring goes. … Each day he’s getting better, you know, inserting his leadership on the team.”

Now, Joey Aguilar is virtually swapping places with Iamaleava and will look to have even more success at Tennessee than his predecessor. In his two seasons at Appalachian State, he amassed 6,760 passing yards and 56 touchdowns while throwing 24 interceptions.

In the ground game, Aguilar recorded 456 total rushing yards and five touchdowns. His 3,757 passing yards in the 2023 campaign are the most in a single season in program history. He also broke the record for passing touchdowns (33) in a single season that year.

Grant Grubbs contributed to this report.