Most people thought Tennessee would be in a rebuild after Nico Iamaleava’s exit. But the reality is far from that, as Joey Aguilar has proved that he’s built for adversity. Sure, Josh Heupel’s team lost against Georgia, but let’s not forget the game went to overtime and ended on a close margin of 41-44. So, it’s pretty clear that Aguilar is owning the team’s offense and making an instant impact. Here’s the bigger question: is he doing it better than Nico ever did?

A head coach who will stay anonymous made it pretty clear to Josh Pate. “This is a head coach, and he said, ‘You know what’s crazy about Heupel and about Tennessee dot dot dot.'” I said, “What is that?” He said, “The quarterback situation is such that it’s obvious they trust Joey Aguilar to do more through three games than they ever did Nico at any point in him being at Tennessee.”” Pate recounted this exchange on his show on September 15.

That makes sense. Joey Aguilar was at his finest showing against Georgia. He completed 24 of 36 passes for 371 yards and four touchdowns, with two interceptions. There was a dip when he took his first sack at Tennessee, but he also ran in a touchdown for the first time as a Volunteer. Stellar production from a transfer QB in just his third game, and that too against an SEC powerhouse.

Even Josh Pate agreed, as he said, “I mean, Joey Aguilar was going to be called on to need to score a lot on Georgia and did. At no point in his career, I don’t care if he played 10 more years in Knoxville, was Nico Iamaleava ever going to tote the jock of the performance that Joey Aguilar turned in yesterday. First time ever for that combination of words on the show. But I feel it was necessary.” This game did go out of their hands, but it sure added Aguilar’s name to the Heisman race.

Aguilar showed off his killer instinct against Georgia. Even after throwing two interceptions, Aguilar followed that by scoring a deep ball TD with a 56 yard pass to Chris Brazzell. Meanwhile, Iamaleava is going through his worst time at UCLA. After losing against New Mexico, it looks like they could be looking at a winless 0-12 season.

Josh Heupel gives out injury updates

After a thrilling game against Georgia, Josh Heupel’s team is going to face UAB but not with a healthy locker room. As All-American cornerback Jermod McCoy is still sidelined with the ACL tear he sustained in January. Heupel expressed uncertainty about his return. “I don’t know the timeline on Jermod,” he said. “He’s gotten started (in practice) and back on the field… He wants to be out there. He’s a great teammate. He’s done a really good job in his rehab.” Now, with McCoy’s absence, even Rickey Gibson is out with an upper-body injury. This forced Heupel to rely on Ty Redmond, who got targeted seven times against Georgia.

On top of that, even David Sanders’ situation is unclear. The five-star freshman offensive tackle has missed three games with a shoulder injury, as he was out before the season opener. “(Sanders has) a unique injury. Doctors are uncertain, and that’s why he’s been kind of day-to-day for a while,” Heupel explained. “It’s not like a sprained ankle… He could wake up tomorrow and be ready to go.”

But the main concern lies with Josh Heupel’s defense. Jaxson Moi got hurt in the season’s first game, and Daevin Hobbs is still out with a foot injury from the preseason. “Moi is day-to-day,” Josh Heupel said. “Hobbs continues to do a really good job in his rehab. How fast that progresses here, I can’t give you an answer today.” But their injury gave freshmen Ethan Utley and Mariyon Dye a lot of playing time against Georgia’s tough defense. Now, with all those inconsistencies and injuries piling up, let’s wait and see how Tennessee will perform against UAB.