Joey Aguilar, hoping for NFL interest, played in pain for Tennessee football

Quarterback Joey Aguilar revealed just how much pain he quietly played through during his lone Tennessee football season.

“It was difficult. (My) arm was hurting really bad throughout the week (during the season), which would cause me to not be able to throw certain routes,” Aguilar said after throwing passes for NFL scouts during Tennessee’s pro day on March 31.

“It was taking away from practice a physical rep. It was something I had to deal with, and I chose to do that. I embraced it. I enjoyed it.”

On Jan. 2, Aguilar underwent surgery to remove a benign tumor on his arm. He said UT coaches and medical staff knew about the tumor, which was discovered early in the 2025 season, but few people were aware of it.

It was painful and limited his arm strength and mobility at times, especially late in the season. The tumor put pressure on his right biceps and pectoral muscle on his throwing arm. But he opted to put off surgery until his season with the Vols ended in the Music City Bowl.

That was the important context of Aguilar’s workout for NFL scouts, which he did at the UT indoor facility just four weeks into what he said is a “10 or 12-week (rehab) process.”

It comes after an eventful offseason that included Aguilar suing the NCAA to try to regain a year of eligibility and play for Tennessee in the 2026 season. It failed in court, and now Aguilar is trying to catch a pro team’s eye ahead of the 2026 NFL Draft on April 23-25 in Pittsburgh.

Joey Aguilar to NFL scouts: ‘I can still sling the rock’

Aguilar needs time to heal, but he knows the door to a potential NFL career is closing quickly. The 24-year-old is projected as an undrafted free agent. But he’s just hoping to get into an NFL camp healthy with a chance to prove himself.

“I’m still super early in my throwing rehab. But I wanted to go out there to show teams that I’m healing pretty fast and that I can still sling the rock,” said Aguilar, a 6-foot-3, 229-pounder. “I’m a little injured right now, but I’ll be healthy by the time a team picks me up.”

Aguilar can throw the ball, at least at every level of college football.

He passed for 13,317 yards and 101 touchdowns in five college seasons, including Diablo Valley Community College (2021-22), Appalachian State (2023-24) and Tennessee (2025).

He also redshirted at City College of San Francisco in 2019. The COVID pandemic canceled his 2020 junior college season there. And he spent spring practice at UCLA in 2025 before transferring to Tennessee to replace Nico Iamaleava, who abruptly bolted UT for UCLA.

At Tennessee pro day, Aguilar threw passes to All-American teammate Chris Brazzell, a projected early-round pick in the draft.

Aguilar admitted his timing was off early in the workout. And he hadn’t thrown deep routes since the Music City Bowl in December. But he settled in and tossed some nice deep passes like those that helped him lead the SEC in passing yards during the 2025 regular season.

“I’m still in my rehab, but the ball is coming out really well,” Aguilar said. “I was excited. It felt good. I wish it could’ve been in Neyland (Stadium) one last time, but it is what it is.”

After losing court case, Aguilar hoping to play once more

Aguilar’s draft prep was condensed into about a month.

Aguilar sued the NCAA in Knox County Chancery Court over the association’s eligibility rules regarding former junior college players. But that lawsuit hit a roadblock when Chancellor Chris Heagerty, a two-time UT graduate, denied his request for an injunction on Feb. 20.

Aguilar attended the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis on Feb. 27. But he wasn’t healthy enough to work out or throw passes, so he met with numerous teams. Those talks led to Zoom calls with NFL teams checking on Aguilar’s progress.

“It’s been busy but fun,” Aguilar said. “Everybody has encouraged me.”

If Aguilar’s court case had been successful, he’d be watching UT spring practice, rehabbing his injury and preparing to play one more college season. But he said his mindset would’ve been the same.

“Football is football. Anywhere you go, you’ve got to compete,” Aguilar said. “If I stayed here, my mindset was to go compete. My mindset is still to go compete.”

Aguilar said UT offensive analyst Landry Jones has helped him prepare for the NFL draft process. Jones was a star quarterback at Oklahoma under UT coach Josh Heupel, and then he spent seven years in the NFL.

But unless Aguilar’s injury heals soon, his NFL door may close. His UT teammates and coaches hope that he gets one last shot like the one he took advantage of with the Vols.

“(Aguilar’s) best is still coming after his rehab process. I know he’ll do a great job wherever he goes, wherever that is, once he gets into camp,” Heupel said. “Because of who he is, how smart he is and the competitor that he is, he’ll be ready to play at a really high level.”

Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat reporter. Email adam.sparks@knoxnews.com. X, formerly known as Twitter@AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing at knoxnews.com/subscribe.

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