Joey Aguilar Welcome to Knoxville
The first ever trade in CFB history is complete. Joey Aguilar plans to transfer to Tennessee after Nico Iamaleava announced his plan to join UCLA after his sudden Tennessee departure.
To be clear, this is not an official “trade.” Those do not exist in College Football as programs do not have the ability to move players in & out of their program without their permission. However, a trade is essentially what occurred over the past week, and it unfolded on a national stage.
Aguilar had transferred to UCLA from App State during the winter portal and was the front-runner to be the Bruins starter this fall. After the announcement of Nico’s move to UCLA, Aguilar was left no other choice but to once again enter the portal. It was all but assured that Iamaleava would now be the starter for the Bruins.
When Nico left Tennessee high & dry right before the end of Spring Practice, Josh Heupel understood he needed to add a QB in the portal with only two scholarship players remaining: Jake Merklinger (RS Freshman) & George MacIntyre (True Freshman). Both players are talented, but are young and lack starting experience. Josh knew he needed to add a veteran that had started games.
It was going to be a long-shot for Tennessee to pull a P4 starting quarterback from another school this Spring. It may be tough to believe given Nico’s actions, but most leaders don’t want to abandon their team with approximately four months to go until the start of the 2025 season. Even if a move did come with a pay raise, and the opportunity to play for one of the country’s top programs while being coached by a proven quarterback guru.
However, there was one quarterback available who fit was Heupel was looking for, and he did happen to need a new team after getting pushed out as quickly as he was brought in.
Enter Joey Aguilar.
If the football gods are real, the 2025 season would play out like a Hollywood script. The QB whose team abandoned him takes over for the team whose QB abandoned them. The lowly-rated recruit goes on to have a special season while the 5-Star flames out, drifting slowly into obscurity.
Tennessee fans can only hope for that sort of cosmic justice. In the meantime, we will just have to sit and wait to determine the winners & losers of the first ever unofficial CFB trade.
Other Portal Happenings
Basketball - Rodney Rice commits to USC. He was one of Rick Barnes remaining portal targets. Tennessee thought the chance for Rice to reunite with former Maryland teammate Ja’Kobi Gillespie would be enough to land the 6’4 shooting guard. Rice was instead looking for the largest payday, and USC was able to offer him that.
So what now? Tennessee will focus on Oklahoma’s veteran guard, Duke Miles. He is scheduled to visit Knoxville on Wednesday. Today is the last day that players can enter their names into the portal for basketball.
Football - Treyshun Hurry a WR from San Jose State was scheduled to visit Knoxville. That has fallen through as he committed to Louisville. Tennessee is still set to host BYU WR standout, Keelan Marion, Western Michigan defensive tackle, Mason Nelson, and Indiana defensive lineman Marcus Burris, Jr.
They are also evaluating North Carolina defensive tackle, Joel Starlings.