Tennessee Volunteers fans and the city of Knoxville are waiting for Joey Aguilar’s verdict on his eighth-year return eligibility. While the entire city waits for February 13 to hear about Joey Aguilar’s judgment day, Vols head coach Josh Heupel didn’t shy away from sending a “grateful” message about something of equal importance.

“Grateful for the women on our staff who impact our team every day! Happy National Girls & Women in Sports Day!”

He gave a big, grateful shout-out to all the awesome women who are part of his team’s staff every single day.

He posted a picture of himself standing with the Power T girls celebrating National Girls & Women in Sports Day (NGWSD). Although it wasn’t possible to identify all 11 women in the picture, some have definitely earned their reps to get there.

For instance, the Director of Recruiting Operations, Janae Simmonds (third one on the left) made it this far purely through merit. She completed not one, but two prestigious summer scouting internships with NFL teams: the Kansas City Chiefs and the New York Giants.

Then you’ve got Katie O’Connor, the Director of Football Nutrition, standing next to the coach on the right. Her job is to make sure athletes eat right. She was the first person to create and run a performance nutrition program from scratch for 17 Division I teams while working at Georgia Southern University.

Plus, other key people include Kate Miller, first on the left. Miller has been an assistant to Josh Heupel for five straight years and holds the title of Executive Assistant to the Head Coach. There are also professionals like Laura Antonelli, an Assistant Athletic Trainer, who takes care of players when they get hurt and helps them recover.

These individuals work hard every day, often without getting much public attention. Heupel’s message was a great way to recognize how valuable they are to the Power T in the modern college football world.

Moreover, the Vols also got some good news with Joey Aguilar’s hearing.

Joey Aguilar might actually pull it off against the NCAA

Joey Aguilar just scored a dub in court that could keep him on the field for 2026. Knox County Chancellor Christopher Heagerty granted Aguilar a 15-day temporary restraining order (TRO) against the NCAA. This essentially pauses the rule that was trying to end his college career by counting his time at junior college against his total eligibility.

The judge said that Aguilar has a good chance of winning this whole thing.

Aguilar has spent seven years in college football, including seasons at City College of San Francisco (redshirt), Diablo Valley Community College, Appalachian State, and Tennessee. The Big Orange are fighting for his eighth season. The argument is that it’s unfair to count years spent at a non-NCAA school, like a junior college, as part of his four-year NCAA clock.

Plus, since the NCAA already gave other players a pass on this rule last year, the court believes Aguilar should receive the same treatment so he doesn’t miss out on millions in potential NIL deals.

Mind you, this isn’t a final “yes” just yet, but it’s more of a one step closer to victory. A more critical hearing is scheduled for February 13, or possibly February 6, at which the judge will decide whether Aguilar can remain eligible for the entire 2026 season.

If he wins that, he’ll be the starting quarterback for the Volunteers this fall. The word is there’s already $2 million waiting for him in Knoxville.