Last Updated on April 22, 2025 5:55 pm
In a strange turn of events, former App State QB Joey Aguilar is heading to the Tennessee Vols by way of UCLA. That's not the strange part, no the strange part is that the now former Vols QB Nico Iamaleava is heading to UCLA, which opens the door for Aguilar's move.
First to Augilar. Among his awards and accomplishments during his two years in Boone are five school records (see below). After those two seasons, he left App State in December to enter the transfer portal, ending up at UCLA. But since the season has not started on the field yet, he has not played a single snap in California.
Now, enter Iamaleava into the mix. Iamaleava's exit from the Vols is mired in controversy after he sought a renegotiation to his NIL deal, which reportedly paid him more than $2 million per year. He didn’t show up to team activities the day before their spring game. On Sunday, he announced he was transferring to UCLA.
According to Ross Dellenger, Aguilar's deal “is expected to pay him significantly less (7 figures less) than Nico Iamaleava’s scheduled $2.4 million compensation,”.
Tennessee's deal with ex-UCLA QB Joey Aguilar, if finalized, is expected to pay him significantly less (7 figures less) than Nico Iamaleava’s scheduled $2.4 million compensation, sources tell @YahooSports.
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) April 21, 2025
Iamaleava’s UCLA compensation was also not expected to match his UT pay.
BREAKING: UCLA QB Joey Aguilar is transferring to TENNESSEE pic.twitter.com/6ci3pHgyt1
— NCAA Transfer Portal (@RivalsPortal) April 21, 2025
Joey Aguilar App State records
— Single-season passing yards (3,757, 2023)
— Single-season passing touchdowns (33, 2023)
— Single-season total offense (4,002, 2023)
— Single-season 200-yard passing games (13, 2023)
— Single-season pass completions (293, 2023)
— Single-season pass attempts (460, 2023)
