Joey Aguilar is expected to replace Nico Iamaleava as the starting quarterback at Tennessee. However, he cannot officially enroll at the university because of his academic status.
The rising fifth-year signal-caller is currently enrolled at a school that is now twice removed!
Hand up, I was not aware that this kind of thing was happening in college football to the extent that it is. Aguilar is my example here but he is not the only one. There are a number of different players all over the country who are playing at one school while actively enrolled at another.
Let’s take a look at Aguilar specifically. The California-native began his career with two seasons at Diablo Valley Community College. He later transferred to Appalachian State as a three-star prospect.
Although there were some issues with interceptions, Aguilar threw for more than 6,750 yards and 56 touchdowns in 25 games over two years. That is in addition to his 450+ yards rushing.
I would not classify Joey Aguilar as a dual-threat quarterback but he can scoot when necessary!
For more reason than one, the 6-foot-3, 220-pounder decided to transfer after the 2024 season. He officially entered his name into the portal on Dec. 24. He later committed to UCLA on Dec. 28.
Aguilar arrived to campus in time for the spring semester (the Bruins are on a quarter system) and the coaching staff loved his performance during the spring practice period. They were very high on his potential as the starter.
However, Iamaleava became available and head coach DeShaun Foster simply could not say no.
Being able to bring in the No. 1 player in the portal… just something we couldn’t pass up.
— DeShaun Foster
With a new quarterback on the way, Aguilar decided to leave. Foster had an honest conversation about the situation and put the ball in his court.
When I was in the NFL, they drafted a running back every year. This is a competition sport. And we had an opportunity to bring in the No. 1 player in the portal. So that was something that we had to do. We’re just looking forward to all the players that want to be here and want to be Bruins and just moving on.
As soon as we knew what it was (with Nico), I was able to communicate with him (Aguilar) with what was going on. He said he was going to go back and talk with his family and he made his decision….If he wanted to stay and compete that was fine.
— DeShaun Foster
In a bizarre twist, Joey Aguilar transferred to Tennessee— where Iamaleava had just left. Except he will not be able to officially join the Volunteers for another few weeks.
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
Yes, you read that correctly. Aguilar left App State on Christmas Eve. He spent the last four months at UCLA and will soon arrive to Knoxville. And yet… he is currently taking classes at Appalachian State.
To reiterate: I have come to learn that Joey Aguilar is not the only college football player to transfer and practice at a new program while actively enrolled at his former school. I would imagine, though, that he is the only player to transfer TWICE and still be enrolled at the school he left the first time.