There’s something electric about watching Joey Aguilar command Tennessee’s offense at Neyland Stadium. The way he surveys defenses, the precision in his deep ball, the fearlessness in his decision-making—it all tells a story. But the real story isn’t just what happens between the lines on Saturdays. It’s about a young man who refused to accept the limitations others placed on him, who carries the flags of two cultures with fierce pride, and who understands that his platform extends far beyond football.
In an era of NIL deals and transfer portal chaos, Joey Aguilar’s journey offers something increasingly rare: authenticity. He didn’t take shortcuts. He didn’t transfer looking for easier opportunities. He fought for every yard, every completion, every chance to prove himself.
His commitment to representing the Latino community while excelling on the field demonstrates how athletes can embrace their cultural identity while achieving mainstream success. He’s not asking permission to be himself—he’s showing young Latino athletes they don’t need permission.
The visibility matters. When Latino families turn on their televisions on Saturday afternoons and see Joey Aguilar leading the Tennessee Volunteers, they see possibility. They see their son, their nephew, their neighbor. They see someone who shares their heritage succeeding at the highest levels.
Joey Aguilar’s heritage blends Mexican American and Puerto Rican roots, a combination that shapes not just his identity but his mission. Born to Jose Aguilar, a first-generation Mexican American, and Lydia Aguilar, who is Puerto Rican, on June 16, 2001, Joey grew up in Antioch, California, watching other quarterbacks receive scholarship offers while scouts overlooked him.
At Freedom High School in Oakley, California, Aguilar threw for 5,575 yards and 59 touchdowns while being named First-Team All-Bay 6 two consecutive years. Those are five-star numbers. Yet when signing day arrived, Aguilar had zero Division I offers. The silence was deafening.
“Growing up I was always overlooked but always worked hard,” Aguilar reflected. “I just had that mindset that I deserve more for myself. When I see all these people that I believe I am better than getting scholarships to these programs, I just take that as accountability for myself that I am not doing something right and I should be doing more.”
That mindset—that refusal to surrender—defines everything about Joey Aguilar.
Finding Purpose Through Adversity
After high school, Aguilar enrolled at City College of San Francisco, where he redshirted as a true freshman in 2019. When the 2020 season was cancelled due to COVID-19, he didn’t get the opportunity to play. Frustrated and uncertain, Aguilar considered ending his football career and pursuing a career as a firefighter after taking firefighting courses at CCSF.
Imagine that moment. A talented quarterback standing at the crossroads, firefighting courses completed, the dream of playing college football slipping away. This is where family becomes everything.
It was his mother, Lydia, who wouldn’t let him quit. She saw what he couldn’t see in that dark moment—that his story was just beginning. “Nothing is going to be given to you; you have to sacrifice to get where you want to be,” Lydia told her son.
Joey transferred to Diablo Valley College and got back to work. After an injury to the starting quarterback in his freshman year, the 6-foot-3 signal caller seized his opportunity and threw 13 touchdowns in 10 games. But injuries would test him again. In his final year at the junior college level, Aguilar suffered an injury that threatened his chances of securing a Division I offer.
“My biggest obstacle was coming back from that injury and putting numbers up within a couple of games,” Aguilar explained. “Being with the guys just helped take my mind off things. Being with them, it was like, ‘I’m not hurt, I’m just out right now and I’ll be back.'”
Breaking Through at Appalachian State
Appalachian State offered Aguilar a chance to be their starting quarterback in 2023. What happened next shocked the college football world. In 2023, Aguilar set school records with 3,757 passing yards and 33 touchdowns, earning Sun Belt Newcomer of the Year honors. He broke six single-season records at App State, including most passing yards, touchdowns, total offense, 13 200-yard passing games, 293 completions, and 460 total pass attempts.
The kid nobody wanted was now one of the most productive quarterbacks in the country.
His father Jose wasn’t surprised. “We are happy for him because he has always been the underdog,” Jose Aguilar said. “It gets frustrating that we know his potential. Now that he’s able to show the world it feels great for him.”
Jose, who coached Joey from a young age, never gave his son anything for free. “Even though my dad was my coach, I wasn’t a starter, you know, he would throw me in there, and I would still have to work to be that guy,” Joey remembered.
The 2024-25 offseason delivered one of college football’s strangest quarterback sagas. Aguilar initially transferred to UCLA in December 2024 for his final year of eligibility. Following Nico Iamaleava’s transfer from Tennessee to UCLA, Aguilar decided to transfer to Tennessee. It was essentially a quarterback swap between two programs thousands of miles apart.
Tennessee coach Josh Heupel named Aguilar the starting quarterback on August 17, 2025, after winning an open competition during fall camp. The challenge was immense—Aguilar had to learn Tennessee’s unique, fast-paced offense without the benefit of spring practice.
But pressure is where Aguilar thrives.
Making an Immediate Impact
In his Tennessee debut against Syracuse, Aguilar threw for 247 yards and three touchdowns in a 45-26 victory, earning Manning Award Star of the Week honors. But the true statement game came in Week 3.
Against No. 6 Georgia, Aguilar completed 24 of 36 passes for 371 yards and four touchdowns while adding another score on the ground. His 371 passing yards tied Peyton Manning’s record for the most ever by a Tennessee player in a game against Georgia.
Read that again. In his SEC debut, against the sport’s most dominant program, Joey Aguilar matched a Peyton Manning record.
Aguilar posted the third-most consecutive completions in a game by a Tennessee quarterback with his 14-of-14 start against the Bulldogs. Per ESPN Insights, Aguilar is the first SEC quarterback to go 14-of-14 or better in any quarter over the last 20 seasons.
The transformation has been stunning. Through four games, Aguilar ranked in the top 20 nationally in passing touchdowns (12, tied for 3rd), passing efficiency (176.08, 12th), passing yards (1,124, 13th), and passing yards per game (281.0, 19th).
Playing with Pride!
For Joey Aguilar, success carries responsibility. His father is a first-generation Mexican American, and his mother is Puerto Rican. Aguilar wears his flags with pride and isn’t shy of expressing who he is.
“It’s awesome. Hispanic quarterbacks—there aren’t many out there,” Joey shared. “To go out there and represent is amazing. Especially for the younger kids seeing a Hispanic quarterback and they’re Hispanic as well. Growing up they can be like, ‘Dang, that’s awesome. I want to be like that one day.'”
This isn’t performative. This is purpose.
The 2023 Cure Bowl MVP often helps his father coach youth football, and the kids are in awe when he stops by practice. He doesn’t just show up for photo ops—he fosters genuine relationships with these young athletes, understanding that representation matters.
“It’s a blessing. I am doing it for a reason, and God has a plan for me to show everyone to pursue dreams,” Aguilar said.
Aguilar is on track to become the first member of his immediate family to graduate from college. Think about the weight of that achievement—not just for him, but for his parents, Jose and Lydia, who were teen parents working multiple jobs to support their children’s dreams.
High school sweethearts Jose and Lydia Aguilar became parents at a young age. Teenage parenthood was challenging, but they endured unceasingly to take care of the family. They instilled in Joey a powerful work ethic and pride in his Latino heritage.
That foundation shaped everything. When Aguilar talks about community, he’s not discussing abstract concepts. He’s talking about the families in Oakley and Antioch who watched him grow up, the junior college coaches who believed in him, the youth football players who now see themselves in him.
His journey validates something powerful: your circumstances don’t determine your destination. Your response to those circumstances does.
Impacting the Vols
What Aguilar brings to Tennessee extends beyond his strong arm and competitive spirit. Tennessee is hoping Aguilar can spark a passing attack that has lagged behind in recent years. The early returns are exceptional.
But his influence transcends statistics. In a sport where Latino quarterbacks remain rare, Aguilar’s visibility at a powerhouse SEC program matters enormously. Young Latino athletes across the country are watching a quarterback who looks like them, who shares their cultural background, succeeding at the highest level of college football.
As Tennessee’s quarterback, Joey wants to inspire as many people and future Latino athletes to keep pursuing their football dreams. That commitment to representation, to being visible and vocal about his heritage, sets him apart in a sport that’s still evolving in its diversity.
Aguilar’s journey to becoming the quarterback at the University of Tennessee is hard to believe. From zero offers out of high school to considering firefighting as a career to setting records at Appalachian State to now leading an SEC powerhouse—it’s the kind of story that reminds us why we love sports.
But Joey Aguilar isn’t satisfied with just being a good story. He wants to be great. He wants to win championships. He wants to inspire the next generation. And he wants to do it all while proudly representing his Mexican and Puerto Rican heritage.
“It’s awesome. Hispanic quarterbacks there aren’t many out there. To go out there and represent is amazing,” Aguilar emphasized.
That representation, that visibility, that refusal to hide who he is—that might be Joey Aguilar’s greatest contribution to the game.
Every Saturday when he takes the field at Neyland Stadium, he’s not just playing for Tennessee. He’s playing for every Latino kid who’s been told they’re too small, too slow, not good enough. He’s playing for his parents, who sacrificed everything. He’s playing for his community, which lifted him up when he needed it most.
And he’s proving, one completion at a time, that the American dream isn’t dead—sometimes it just takes a little longer to arrive, and when it does, it’s sweeter than anyone could have imagined.
Joey Aguilar’s story isn’t finished. The best chapters might still be unwritten. But what he’s already accomplished—both on the field and in the lives he’s touching off it—ensures his legacy will extend far beyond any stat sheet.
That’s what makes him more than just a quarterback. That’s what makes him a game-changer.
For more information about Joey Aguilar and the Tennessee Volunteers football program, visit the official University of Tennessee Athletics website.
Follow Joey Aguilar on social media: Twitter/X @Jooey16_ | Instagram @joeyaguilar_4