Unlike Trinidad Chambliss, the football gods weren’t in favor of Tennessee Volunteers QB Joey Aguilar’s eighth-year eligibility. When the Big Orange got hit with devastating news, the former Ole Miss Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin came into the picture and dropped his biggest “told you so.”

On February 20th, college football senior insider, Pete Thamel hopped onto X and made it arguably handed Josh Heupel his biggest off-season L so far: “Tennessee QB Joey Aguilar’s injunction for another year of eligibility has been denied by a local judge, source tells ESPN. He’ll turn pro and attend the NFL Combine next week. Tennessee will have a new starting quarterback for the fifth straight-year.”

As devastating as it was, it’s not absurd to say he had it coming, per Lane Kiffin’s knowledge. Within three hours or so, the LSU Tigers HC threw a straight uppercut shade, implying that Aguilar’s team made a big mistake by not hiring a specific high-profile lawyer to handle the case.

“ When you don’t get @TomMarsLaw involved ……. 🇹🇹”

The whole drama started because Aguilar wanted a sixth season on the field. He argued that the two years he spent playing in junior college shouldn’t count against his NCAA clock. What’s fascinating and disheartening at the same time is, the former Sun Belt Gunslinger had $2 million in NIL on the table waiting for him in Knoxville.

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Must say, that’s a huge payday to lose out on just because a judge didn’t see things his way. When Aguilar first started this legal lawsuit fight, Kiffin actually reached out publicly and suggested that he hire Tom Mars.

“”Why not?? 1-800-TomMarsLaw,” Kiffin on X back 1st week of February.

Instead, Joey Aguilar decided to go with attorney Cam Norris for his big legal fight. Make no mistake, Norris is a pretty big deal in Knoxville and has even worked for Nico Iamaleava and Prez Donald Trump in the past. While Aguilar started out as part of a larger group lawsuit, he eventually decided to branch off and have Norris represent him solo in state court. Unfortunately for him, that move didn’t lead to a win.

The reason Kiffin brought up Tom Mars is because that guy is basically a legend when it comes to beating the NCAA. He’s known as the “NCAA Slayer” because he has successfully helped more or less 50 athletes get their eligibility back, including Justin Fields back in 2019. Although he didn’t win all of them, his track record is so strong that the NCAA once hired him as an “independent external advocate” because they had a hard time beating him in the court.

To make things even more awkward for Aguilar, Mars was actually handling a nearly identical case for Trinidad Chambliss at the same time and managed to win that one. Kiffin was basically pointing out that if Aguilar had hired the “gold standard” lawyer, he might be $2 million richer right now.

With Joey Aguilar’s college career done in Knoxville, what’s next for him and Josh Heupel?

Joey Aguilar’s next step

It’s sad to see Joey not coming back for one more season. He’s arguably one of the most entertaining gunslingers in college, if not the most. After all, the best Vols-coded signal-caller since Hendon Hooker.

The man has throw for 24 touchdowns, 3565 yards (top of SEC), 10 picks while hitting 67.3% of his passes. The ‘10’ picks might scare some folks out, but that’s the price that comes with being an old-school gunslinger.

Since he’s talented for sure, the word is he’s heading straight to the NFL Combine next week in Indy. Scouts could draft him in the late rounds after he performed pretty well in a pro-style offense. Had the NCAA approved his eligibility, he could’ve pushed his stock into the first or second round next season. Considering the weapons they had stacked him for ball out.

As for Tennessee, they’re in a bit of a tough spot. They have to find a new starting quarterback for the fifth year in a row. They will have George MacIntyre, Faizon Brandon (true FR), and Colorado transfer Ryan Staub going square it out in spring ball. Since there isn’t legit starter experience, the Vols might potentially have one of the worst seasons under Heupel next season