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Tennessee quarterback Joey Aguilar is ineligible to play college football after a Knoxville judge denied a preliminary injunction on Feb. 20 that could've halted NCAA eligibility rules in his case.
It's a major victory for the NCAA. And it all but closes the door to Aguilar playing for the Vols in the 2026 season, which begins in September. He would need a speedy and successful appeal to reverse the order, which appears unlikely.
The 24-year-old Aguilar could simply declare for the 2026 NFL Draft and try to extend his football career in the professional ranks. He will be at the NFL scouting combine on Feb. 27 in Indianapolis, an event he planned to attend whether the injunction was granted or denied.
Meanwhile, Tennessee has young quarterbacks ready to compete for the starting job in the 2026 season if Aguilar moves on.
Aguilar sued the NCAA in Knox County Chancery Court over its eligibility rules regarding former junior college players.
Aguilar, who started his career in junior college, sought to play one more college season. He has already spent seven years in college football, but only three seasons at NCAA member schools.
Chancellor Chris Heagerty, a two-time UT graduate, initially granted Aguilar a 15-day restraining order against those NCAA rules and then extended it until his ruling on the injunction. But Heagerty denied Aguilar an injunction order, which would've served as a long-term measure for the quarterback.
Unless Aguilar pulls off an improbable appeal, his college football career is over. That means Tennessee wasted time and attention hoping for its starting quarterback to regain his eligibility.
Aguilar reenrolled at Tennessee, and he has been rehabbing after undergoing surgery on Jan. 2 to remove a benign tumor on his arm. According to his complaint in the lawsuit, UT held a spot available on the 2026 roster for Aguilar, as well as access to "approximately $2 million" in NIL money for the quarterback.
Meanwhile, Tennessee failed to land a premier starting quarterback in the transfer portal. Then coach Josh Heupel declared his support for Aguilar in a court brief.
Tennessee starts spring practice on March 16. Redshirt freshman George MacIntyre, five-star freshman Faizon Brandon and Colorado transfer Ryan Staub will compete for the starting quarterback job in the 2026 season unless Aguilar's eligibility status changes.
They must replace Aguilar, who led the SEC with 3,565 passing yards in 2025, the third most in a single season in UT history.
The NCAA allows players to compete for four seasons within five years. And it counts junior college seasons toward that total and time period even though junior colleges are not part of the NCAA.
Aguilar argued that junior college competition shouldn't factor into NCAA seasons of eligibility or an athlete’s eligibility clock because junior colleges are not part of the NCAA. But denying the injunction means the NCAA rule was upheld in his case.
In 2019, Aguilar redshirted at City College of San Francisco. In 2020, the COVID pandemic canceled his junior college season there. In 2021-22, he played two junior college seasons at Diablo Valley College.
Then Aguilar’s NCAA career began. In 2023-24, he played at Appalachian State. He transferred to UCLA for spring 2025, and then he transferred to Tennessee in an essential quarterback swap involving Nico Iamaleava.
Aguilar wanted the 2026 season to count as his fourth and final season of NCAA eligibility. Instead, he has exhausted his eligibility already.
Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat reporter. Email [email protected]. X, formerly known as Twitter@AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing atknoxnews.com/subscribe.
Get the latest news and insight on SEC football by subscribing to the SEC Unfiltered newsletter, delivered straight to your inbox.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Joey Aguilar: Tennessee football QB loses injunction in NCAA eligibility case
Continue reading...
It's a major victory for the NCAA. And it all but closes the door to Aguilar playing for the Vols in the 2026 season, which begins in September. He would need a speedy and successful appeal to reverse the order, which appears unlikely.
The 24-year-old Aguilar could simply declare for the 2026 NFL Draft and try to extend his football career in the professional ranks. He will be at the NFL scouting combine on Feb. 27 in Indianapolis, an event he planned to attend whether the injunction was granted or denied.
Meanwhile, Tennessee has young quarterbacks ready to compete for the starting job in the 2026 season if Aguilar moves on.
Aguilar sued the NCAA in Knox County Chancery Court over its eligibility rules regarding former junior college players.
Aguilar, who started his career in junior college, sought to play one more college season. He has already spent seven years in college football, but only three seasons at NCAA member schools.
Chancellor Chris Heagerty, a two-time UT graduate, initially granted Aguilar a 15-day restraining order against those NCAA rules and then extended it until his ruling on the injunction. But Heagerty denied Aguilar an injunction order, which would've served as a long-term measure for the quarterback.
What Joey Aguilar court loss means for Tennessee quarterbacks
Unless Aguilar pulls off an improbable appeal, his college football career is over. That means Tennessee wasted time and attention hoping for its starting quarterback to regain his eligibility.
Aguilar reenrolled at Tennessee, and he has been rehabbing after undergoing surgery on Jan. 2 to remove a benign tumor on his arm. According to his complaint in the lawsuit, UT held a spot available on the 2026 roster for Aguilar, as well as access to "approximately $2 million" in NIL money for the quarterback.
Meanwhile, Tennessee failed to land a premier starting quarterback in the transfer portal. Then coach Josh Heupel declared his support for Aguilar in a court brief.
Tennessee starts spring practice on March 16. Redshirt freshman George MacIntyre, five-star freshman Faizon Brandon and Colorado transfer Ryan Staub will compete for the starting quarterback job in the 2026 season unless Aguilar's eligibility status changes.
They must replace Aguilar, who led the SEC with 3,565 passing yards in 2025, the third most in a single season in UT history.
Why Aguilar sued NCAA over its eligibility rules
The NCAA allows players to compete for four seasons within five years. And it counts junior college seasons toward that total and time period even though junior colleges are not part of the NCAA.
Aguilar argued that junior college competition shouldn't factor into NCAA seasons of eligibility or an athlete’s eligibility clock because junior colleges are not part of the NCAA. But denying the injunction means the NCAA rule was upheld in his case.
In 2019, Aguilar redshirted at City College of San Francisco. In 2020, the COVID pandemic canceled his junior college season there. In 2021-22, he played two junior college seasons at Diablo Valley College.
Then Aguilar’s NCAA career began. In 2023-24, he played at Appalachian State. He transferred to UCLA for spring 2025, and then he transferred to Tennessee in an essential quarterback swap involving Nico Iamaleava.
Aguilar wanted the 2026 season to count as his fourth and final season of NCAA eligibility. Instead, he has exhausted his eligibility already.
Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat reporter. Email [email protected]. X, formerly known as Twitter@AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing atknoxnews.com/subscribe.
Get the latest news and insight on SEC football by subscribing to the SEC Unfiltered newsletter, delivered straight to your inbox.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Joey Aguilar: Tennessee football QB loses injunction in NCAA eligibility case
Continue reading...
