Consider legendary Alabama football coach Nick Saban a fan of Tennessee football star Joey Aguilar.

Ahead of the Volunteers' rivalry game vs. Georgia today, Saban praised the transfer quarterback's play through the first two weeks.

“Joey is not as tall as Nico [Iamaleava]. He's probably not as fast as Nico. But when it comes to executing their offense at Tennessee, he's been exceptional in terms of his accuracy on RPOs, taking advantage of advantage throws, which come with the run game,” Saban said on ‘College Gameday' this morning. “And he's been very effective throwing the ball down the field, and he's been athletic enough to get away from trouble when he needs to. … I think this guy fits Tennessee's offense perfectly.”

Aguilar came to Knoxville in what was effectively a trade, even if it technically wasn't. The Volunteers received Aguilar, who had announced in December that he was transferring to UCLA. And the Bruins received Nico Iamaleava, whose pay dispute with Tennessee led the 2024 Vols starting quarterback to transfer to UCLA.

The swap has worked out very well for one side and not at all for the other.

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While Iamaleava has struggled — he has 3 touchdowns and 3 interceptions amid the Bruins' 0-3 start to the season, including last night's 35-10 loss to New Mexico — Aguilar has thrived. Two games in, he has thrown for 5 touchdowns and no picks while leading the Volunteers to decisive victories over Syracuse and East Tennessee State.

Aguilar, a no-offer recruit out of Antioch, California, began his college career at City College of San Francisco in 2019. He transferred to Diablo Valley College during the COVID pandemic, starting 11 games over two seasons, during which he threw for 21 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. His play got him noticed by Appalachian State, to which Aguilar transferred ahead of the 2023 season.

Initially the backup, Aguilar instantly became the starter due to an opening-week injury to the Mountaineers' starting quarterback. The California native made the most out of the opportunity, tallying more than 3,700 yards passing and scoring 36 touchdowns while leading App State to a 9-5 record and Sun Belt title game berth. The following season, Aguilar's numbers slipped and so did App State, which went 5-6 and fired head coach Shawn Clark in December.

Now at Tennessee, Aguilar will face the stiffest of competition, including today, when No. 15 Tennessee hosts No. 6 Georgia and tries to snap an eight-game losing streak against the Bulldogs. The Volunteers have not beaten Georgia since 2016 and last won the rivalry game in Knoxville a decade ago.