Joey Aguilar's 'let it rip' mentality is missing piece Tennessee never had with Nico Iamaleava

The Tennessee quarterback room took an unexpected hit when starting QB Nico Iamaleava left the program due to dissatisfaction over his compensation and other internal factors. His departure forced Tennessee to search the transfer portal for an experienced option, which led them to Joey Aguilar.

Landing Aguilar has been a huge portal win for the Vols, as he's been lighting it up over the past couple of seasons. He's viewed as a strong fit in Josh Heupel’s offensive system.

“Aguilar fits what Tennessee is looking for, a proven starter with one year to play. He passed for 6,760 yards and 56 TDs last two years at App. State. Also a very capable runner. Heupel and Vols definitely looking for another QB,” ESPN’s Chris Low wrote.

Aguilar will face a position battle with the two other quarterbacks currently on the roster, but if he wins the job, he could end up putting up better numbers than Iamaleava did during his time in the system.

On3’s JD PicKell believes Aguilar is a better overall fit for Tennessee's offense than Iamaleava ever was.

“And so I love that for Tennessee because it gives you an authoritative presence in your offense should he end up winning the job. It's a very different personality playing quarterback for you than Nico Iamaleava from a play style perspective. Joey Aguilar is going to cut it loose, man. He's going to let it rip,” Pickell said. “he's going to have a higher degree of connection on those deep balls than what Nico Iamaleava had this past season at Tennessee. That's not to say Nico Iamaleava couldn't have gotten there, but it was a projection, right? You were hoping it would eventually happen. How many times as a Tennessee fan were you feeling one of two things: either A, you're sitting there and saying, 'man, he was open, I wish Nico would have let it rip', as one thought, or B, saying, 'man, he was open, why did we not connect on that?”

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Aguilar has already posted big numbers in college, and if he brings that same aggressive mentality to Knoxville, the Vols could once again rise to be one of the top passing offenses in the nation—just as expected under Josh Heupel.