Joey Aguilar probably didn’t realize his comments during an open week were pertinent to his Tennessee quarterback predecessor, Nico Iamaleava.
But they certainly were, especially as UT’s offense soars and Iamaleava’s offense flounders at UCLA.
“This is just a super quarterback friendly offense,” Aguilar told reporters on Oct. 1. “There are a lot of different things that we’re doing in this offense from last year.
“But coach has got a lot of trust in me, and I’ve got a lot of trust in coach.”
Iamaleava’s reason for leaving Tennessee and his current team’s struggles make Aguilar’s observation relevant. He wanted a new NIL deal that paid him more money.
But after Iamaleava transferred to UCLA and supplanted Aguilar there, the Iamaleava family told FOX Sports personalities Colin Cowherd and Joel Klatt that problems with Tennessee’s offense was a big reason for his departure.
With Aguilar at quarterback, Tennessee ranks No. 3 nationally in scoring offense (51 ppg), No. 6 in passing offense (337.2 ypg) and No. 7 in total offense (536.4 ypg).
Aguilar has passed for 1,459 yards, 13 TDs and five interceptions. He has played behind one of college football’s best offensive lines in terms of pass protection. And his top receiver, Chris Brazzell, leads the nation with seven TD catches.
UCLA ranks No. 134 among 136 FBS teams in scoring offense (14.3 ppg). It also ranks No. 119 in total offense (321.3 ypg) and No. 99 in passing offense (197 ypg).
Iamaleava has passed for 788 yards, four TDs and three interceptions.
Turmoil for UCLA football with Nico Iamaleava
No. 15 Tennessee (4-1, 1-1 SEC) plays Arkansas (2-3, 1-1) on Oct. 11 (4:15 p.m. ET, SEC Network) at Neyland Stadium. The Vols hope to be in the mix in the SEC race and the College Football Playoff.
UCLA (0-4, 0-1 Big Ten) plays No. 6 Penn State (3-1, 0-1 Big Ten) on Oct. 4 (3:30 p.m. ET, CBS). UCLA has already fired coach DeShaun Foster just four games into the season, and the Bruins coaching staff has imploded.
On Oct. 1, UCLA announced that offensive coordinator Tino Sunseri had left the program. He coached Aguilar in spring practice at UCLA and then tutored Iamaleava in what was billed as an improved offense.
Instead, UCLA has struggled in virtually every area on offense, and its play-caller is now unemployed.
Meanwhile, Aguilar is thriving in UT’s offense with some tweaks to the scheme that were already in place when Iamaleava was with the Vols in spring practice.
But Aguilar praised his connection to Tennessee’s coaches during an off week. He credited the “super quarterback friendly” offense and the staff for helping him to a hot start after transferring from UCLA to Tennessee in May.
“We go in the film room, talk about plays and dial things up. We go out there on the practice field and run it to see what we like and what we don’t like,” Aguilar said. “Just the space of open communication that we have with each other to discuss what we like, what we don’t like, what we want to add, what we want to take out is very helpful.”
Aguilar said being coached by former quarterbacks has been a big benefit to his development. Of course, that includes coach Josh Heupel, who led Oklahoma to the 2000 national title as a Heisman Trophy runner-up, and former Sooners quarterback Joey Halzle at offensive coordinator.
“(Being coached by quarterbacks) affects it a lot,” Aguilar said. “You get different perspectives of great coaches, that then include Jared (Peery) and Landry (Jones). Everybody pitches in ideas and talks through (offensive scenarios). It helps me because I see those (coaches) who played at a high level, and I get to pick their brain.”
Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat reporter. Email [email protected]. X, formerly known as Twitter@AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing at knoxnews.com/subscribe.
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