Lower than two weeks after formally transferring on from quarterback Nico Iamaleava, Tennessee has seemingly discovered his substitute within the faculty soccer switch portal. Paradoxically, Iamaleava’s substitute will likely be former UCLA commit Joey Aguilar.
Aguilar, who dedicated to UCLA from the portal as an Appalachian State graduate switch, flipped to Tennessee on Wednesday night time, per ESPN’s Chris Low. With Iamaleava transferring to the Bruins the day earlier than, the 2 groups successfully accomplished a quarterback commerce.
Although Aguilar doesn’t have the status of Iamaleava, he was a extremely sought-after recruit from the portal following two profitable seasons at Appalachian State. He had his greatest season with the Mountaineers in 2023, profitable the Solar Belt Newcomer of the Yr award with 3,757 passing yards, 33 touchdowns and 10 interceptions, setting a number of single-season information.
Tennessee is giving Aguilar an NIL deal price roughly $1.2 million, per ESPN’s Pete Thamel. The contract is price the identical because the one he was set to obtain at UCLA. The greenback quantity is nearly half what they had been planning to pay Iamaleava in 2025, and one-quarter of the entire he was demanding throughout his holdout.
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Aguilar joins a Tennessee quarterback room that already consists of true freshman George MacIntyre and redshirt freshman Jake Merklinger. MacIntyre and Merklinger each carried out effectively within the Volunteers’ spring sport, however Aguilar ought to have an instantaneous leg-up on the beginning job.
MacIntyre and Merklinger each landed in Knoxville as four-star prospects, with the previous receiving barely extra pop through the spring sport. Whereas head coach Josh Heupel expressed confidence in each following Iamaleava’s exit, the group’s urgency so as to add Aguilar suggests in any other case.
Regardless of the bitter finish of the Nico Iamaleava period, Tennessee nonetheless hopes to construct on the success it had in 2024. In Heupel’s fourth 12 months with the group, the Volunteers made their first School Soccer Playoffs look and ended the season ranked at No. 9 within the remaining AP ballot. Heupel has led them to 3 finishes with a rating within the remaining ballot, this system’s longest streak since 1999.
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