Tennessee enters the offseason with uncertainty at quarterback.

After Nico Iamaleava quit the program and transferred to UCLA in April, the Vols were left with an void to fill.

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With just two scholarship quarterbacks on the roster, Josh Heupel turned to the transfer portal to try and add some depth and much-needed experience.

Tennessee found it in Joey Aguilar, the record-setting quarterback at Appalachian State who spent the spring at UCLA before entering the portal again and inking with the Vols.

Aguilar will compete with redshirt freshman Jake Merklinger and true freshman George MacIntyre for the starting job in fall camp, though he dwarfs the two in real-game experience.

Merklinger appeared in just four games last season and MacIntyre, a former four-start prospect, only arrived in December.

But not everyone is sold on Aguilar being able to get Tennessee back to the College Football Playoff after getting there a year ago, including Urban Meyer.

The ex-Florida and Ohio State head coach, who previously said that the Vols were “screwed” after Iamaleava’s departure, doubled down on the Triple Option Podcast earlier this month, offering a bleak outlook for Tennessee in 2025.

“I went and watched Aguilar because I wanted to familiarize myself,” Meyer said. “I love (Appalachian) State. But the reality is, you’re stepping in the SEC. So everybody’s at least a step, maybe at most positions, two steps faster. And when you have 24 interceptions, that’s about one per game, that’s way too many.

“The windows, just are so much tighter (in the SEC). I will go back on record again, saying Tennessee is screwed. Now, you can get unscrewed real fast if that team develops, but as of May, we’re in the get screwed category.”

Aguilar, who began his career Diablo Valley College, single-season records in passing yards (3,757) and touchdowns (33) in his first season with the Mountaineers in 2023.

Turnovers were a problem in his second season in 2024. He tossed 14 interceptions that year in addition to the 3,003 yards and 23 scores he passed for.

Quarterbacks in Heupel’s system haven’t turned the ball over much. Hendon Hooker threw just five in two years with the Vols, while Joe Milton accounted for five in three years.

In his lone season as Tennessee’s starter in 2024, Iamaleava totaled five interceptions.

If Aguilar can limit turnovers and the Vols’ wide receiving corps—which boasts plenty of potentially but is largely inexperienced—can be consistent, the offense should find success.

“(Aguilar) has starts. He’s played at a high level. He’s the got the ability to throw the ball vertically,” Heupel said at his Big Orange Caravan stop in Memphis last month. “He’s accurate and on time in the intermediate passing game. He has the ability to use his feet to extend plays and in the quarterback run game too.

“It’s similar to the traits that we have with guys on campus right now.”

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