Tennessee's tumultuous 2025 college football season ended with a narrow loss to Illinois in the Music City Bowl on Tuesday. In the days since, star quarterback Joey Aguilar underwent successful surgery to address a benign tumor in his arm.
Aguilar did not make the injury public and has been dealing with pain in his biceps and labrum for weeks, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported. He immediately addressed the issue after Tennessee's season concluded and is expected to make a full recovery within eight weeks.
While a benign tumor is not cancerous or life-threatening, it can still cause immense pain. Aguilar's tumor pushed into his biceps and caused weakness in the muscle, according to Schefter.
Despite the injury, Aguilar did not miss a game in 2025, including the Music City Bowl. However, he threw for a season-low 121 passing yards in a 30-28 loss to Illinois to end the year.
The situation makes his presence in the bowl game a near-miraculous effort, highlighting what made him a fan-favorite in Knoxville in just one season. Most players in similar situations will opt out of the bowl game to have surgery earlier and speed up the recovery timeline.
The 24-year-old Aguilar is considered by some to be a prospect in the 2026 NFL Draft as a potential Day Three pick. Age is one of his biggest concerns, as the seventh-year quarterback was in the same class as players like Bo Nix, Jayden Daniels and Spencer Rattler.
Aguilar ended his lone season at Tennessee with 3,565 passing yards, third-most in the SEC and 10th in the FBS. He accounted for 24 touchdowns and 10 interceptions, while adding four rushing touchdowns.
