Steve Spurrier claims Tennessee is 'much better off' with Joey Aguilar over Nico Iamaleava

Former Florida and South Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier may not have much love lost for the Tennessee Volunteers, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have his eye on Knoxville. In particular, he’s taken note of the quarterback situation there.

The Tennessee quarterback situation has been well documented. Former starter, Nico Iamaleava, went looking for more money this offseason, but the Volunteers weren’t willing to give it to him. So, he transferred to UCLA while Tennessee eventually landed Joey Aguilar in the Transfer Portal. Since then, Tennessee fans have seemed to be very happy with Aguilar.

Aguilar is about to face a major test with the Volunteers set to host Georgia. That was a game Spurrier was helping to preview on Another Dooley Noted Podcast when he boldly claimed that Tennessee is better off with Aguilar.

“I think it’ll be a good game,” Steve Spurrier said. “I think Tennessee is much better off with this new quarterback than the one they had. It’s funny how that happens sometimes. You think this guy’s the best in the world. Then, all of a sudden, another guy jumps in there and plays better.”

It’s difficult to find quarterbacks with more different backgrounds than Aguilar and Iamaleava. For his part, Iamaleava was a five-star recruit in the Class of 2023. Since high school, he’d been a massive recruit who garnered large NIL deals. Meanwhile, Joey Aguilar is a former JUCO player who nearly gave up football to become a firefighter. A three-star recruit in the Class of 2019, he’s made stops at App State and UCLA at the FBS level before landing at Tennessee.

So far this season, Aguilar is having the better season. He is completing 66.1 percent of his passes for 535 yards and five touchdowns. Aguilar has also added 34 yards rushing. That’s come in two comfortable wins. Iamaleava, meanwhile, has led UCLA to an 0-2 record. For the season, he is completing 63.5 percent of his passes for 391 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions. He’s also rushed for 106 yards and a touchdown.

“That’s a big part of college football now. When that quarterback you gave $3 or 4 million to goes bad. Now what do you do? What do you do now? Play the backup that is maybe getting $50,000 or something like that. So, it creates disunity on the team,” Spurrier said. “Other players, well, he’s getting all this money. He’s not even playing. So, you’ve got to be careful who you give the money to. That’s part of the game now.”

The Tennessee Volunteers haven’t beaten the Georgia Bulldogs since 2016. Since then, it’s been eight straight wins for Georgia. So, Joey Aguilar has a chance to make a massive statement when the two meet on Saturday.