The quarterback question consumed most of the offseason for the University of Tennessee football team. From surprising spring drama to an unexpected arrival, the attention was largely focused on who would be throwing the ball.
Veteran graduate transfer Joey Aguilar won the quarterback competition to replace Nico Iamaleava, who abruptly left UT during the spring and transferred to UCLA. In a bit of a QB swap, Aguilar left UCLA once Iamaleava arrived and headed to Knoxville.
He will be making his UT debut when the No. 24 Vols open the season Aug. 30 against Syracuse in the AFLAC Kickoff Game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. The Vols host East Tennessee State University in their home opener at Neyland Stadium on Sept. 6, and begin SEC play at home against Georgia on Sept. 13.
UT finished last season 10-3 and reached the College Football Playoff before losing in the first round to eventual champion Ohio State. Along with Iamaleava, the Vols need to replace several key contributors throughout the lineup, especially on offense.
Aguilar beat out redshirt freshman Jake Merklinger and true freshman George MacIntyre for the starting job. The California native spent the last two seasons at Appalachian State, throwing for 6,760 yards and 56 touchdowns with 24 interceptions.
“I’m excited. I’m especially excited to run out of that T though,” Aguilar says. “I haven’t been to a Tennessee game in my life so that’s one check mark I can make off of my list.”
The Vols have a navigable SEC schedule, playing No. 5 Georgia, Arkansas, No. 18 Oklahoma and Vanderbilt at home while going on the road to face Mississippi State, No. 8 Alabama, Kentucky, and No. 15 Florida.
Reloading on offense
Among the biggest voids to fill on offense for the Vols is in the backfield. Dylan Sampson, the SEC Offensive Player of the Year, ran for a school-record 1,491 yards last season before leaving for the NFL. DeSean Bishop, Peyton Lewis and Star Thomas, a transfer from Duke, are in the mix for carries at a position Heupel believes is “probably as deep as we have been.”
“It’s a good problem because I think competition never lets you be complacent,” UT running backs coach De’Rail Sims says. “We talk about it all the time, good is the enemy of great, so when you have a whole room, and it’s not just those three guys, you sit up there and look at the two freshmen that we have in Duane Morris and Justin Baker, they don’t want to take a back seat to anybody, so they’re competing their tails off as well.”
Left tackle Lance Heard is the only starter to return on the offensive line. Five-star recruit David Sanders Jr. is on track to start at right tackle and Arizona transfer Wendall Moe at left guard. The Vols need to find someone to replace four-year starter Cooper Mays at center.
“Collectively, as a group, I like the way that they’ve competed throughout the course of training camp,” Heupel says. “I think they have done a really nice job with communication and fundamentals on the pass pro side of it and have been really good in the run game too, but it’s a young group ultimately.”
Who Aguilar will be throwing the ball to most at wide receiver remains a question. The top three wide receivers from last season are gone. Of the seven scholarship receivers, only three have played a down of college football. Chris Brazzell II, Mike Matthews, and Braylon Staley are expected to be the most targeted at the start.
Tight end is a position of strength for the Vols, with Miles Kitselman returning as the starting tight end and SEC all-freshman selection Ethan Davis providing valuable game experience.
UT is experienced in the kicking game. Max Gilbert, who made 20 of 26 field goals last season, returns at kicker, and Jackson Ross, who averaged 43.9 yards per punt, returns at punter.
Staying strong defensively
Defensively, the Vols are coming off a season in which they surrendered their fewest point per game average since the 1998 national championship team (14.5 ppg). The 209 points in 2024 were the fewest total allowed by a UT defense since the 1999 squad.
Preseason AP All-American Jermod McCoy is returning from a torn ACL he suffered in January. The junior defensive back returned to practice in early August with a few drills as he continued his rehab. McCoy enters the season as one of the top NFL prospects.
Sophomore defensive back Boo Carter had to earn his way back into practice at the start of camp after missing several offseason workouts and team activities in the summer
“Our leadership council has been a part of those things, those discussions with me and Boo,” Heupel said at the time. “I’m proud of what they’ve done. They care and love Boo and want him to be his best too.”
The Vols are replacing James Pearce Jr. on the edge, but return Bryson Eason, Jaxson Moi and Dominic Bailey on the defensive line.
Asked how confident he was in this year’s defensive unit, junior linebacker Arion Carter says, “Oh, really confident.”
“Obviously, there’s room and areas to grow in,” he says. “But we’re getting better day-by-day and we’re taking little steps and you can see it during little increments at practice that we may have messed up on the play before or a day before that we don’t mess up now.”