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'Give it one more shot': How Joey Aguilar nearly gave up football to become a firefighter

IMG_3593by: Grant Ramey08/23/25GrantRamey
Tennessee QB battle: Josh Heupel breaks down decision to start Joey Aguilar
Caitie McMekin/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The path getting here was crazy. It’s the only way Joey Aguilar could describe his journey earlier this week, going from junior college in California to a two-year starter at Appalachian State, transferring to UCLA for just a matter of months, then winning the job as Tennessee’s starting quarterback. 

And that doesn’t even include the days he thought he was giving up on football for a different life altogether. 

“Before I went JUCO,” Aguilar told reporters on Wednesday, “I wanted to be a fireman. So I was like, I might as well start.” 

From COVID shutdowns to Division I opportunities

COVID protocols had shut down football at the junior college level, so Aguilar, at Diablo Valley Community College at the time, started thinking about what was next.

“I was like, if I’m going to do that,” Aguilar said of the fire-fighting route, “I might as well just start my career, start taking classes for that.”

Then football came back and so did Aguilar’s days as a quarterback. 

In six games at Diablo Valley in 2022 he threw for 1,446 yards, eight touchdown and four interceptions while completing 64% of his passes. He ran 65 times for another 358 yards. 

He parlayed those numbers into his first Division I opportunity, transferring to Appalachian State before the 2023 season. He threw for 3,757 yards and 33 touchdowns, against 10 interceptions, in his first year with the Mountaineers, then another 3,003 yards and 23 touchdowns, with 14 interceptions, in 2024. 

Sticking with football paid off — quickly.

“When football came back around, came back into it,” Aguilar said, “just to see how my life shifted in just a short time of just people like, saying, like, yo, come play, just one more time. Give it one more shot. So it’s kind of crazy to see.”

Joey Aguilar: ‘I wouldn’t go back and would want to change my journey at all’

Aguilar, the Antioch, Calif., native, transferred back to his home state in December to be UCLA’s quarterback. That changed when former Tennessee starter Nico Iamaleava entered the NCAA Transfer Portal in April and landed in Los Angeles with the Bruins. 

Aguilar went back into the portal and ended up replacing Iamaleava at Tennessee, where he beat out redshirt freshman Jake Merklinger and freshman George MacIntyre for the starting job.

“If you would tell me that in 2021, 2022,” Aguilar said, “I probably would not believe it because I was in JUCO at that time, looking at players at this level, like, dang, that’s crazy, I wish I was there. And here I am.

“I just got to thank Jesus for giving me the opportunity to be here.” 

And the path, from there to here, only made it better.

“I wouldn’t go back and would want to change my journey at all,” Aguilar said. “JUCO was an amazing time. Coaches were great, people were great, and my friends and family helped me a lot.”

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