Less than two weeks after officially moving on from quarterback Nico Iamaleava, Tennessee has seemingly found his replacement in the college football transfer portal. Ironically, Iamaleava's replacement will be former UCLA commit Joey Aguilar.

Aguilar, who committed to UCLA from the portal as an Appalachian State graduate transfer, flipped to Tennessee on Wednesday night, per ESPN's Chris Low. With Iamaleava transferring to the Bruins the day before, the two teams effectively completed a quarterback trade.

Though Aguilar does not have the prestige of Iamaleava, he was a highly sought-after recruit from the portal following two successful seasons at Appalachian State. He had his best season with the Mountaineers in 2023, winning the Sun Belt Newcomer of the Year award with 3,757 passing yards, 33 touchdowns and 10 interceptions, setting multiple single-season records.

Tennessee is giving Aguilar an NIL deal worth roughly $1.2 million, per ESPN's Pete Thamel. The contract is worth the same as the one he was set to receive at UCLA. The dollar amount is almost half what they were planning to pay Iamaleava in 2025, and one-quarter of the total he was demanding during his holdout.

Joey Aguilar joins Tennessee football quarterback room

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Aguilar joins a Tennessee quarterback room that already consists of true freshman George MacIntyre and redshirt freshman Jake Merklinger. MacIntyre and Merklinger both performed well in the Volunteers' spring game, but Aguilar should have an immediate leg-up on the starting job.

MacIntyre and Merklinger both landed in Knoxville as four-star prospects, with the former receiving slightly more pop during the spring game. While head coach Josh Heupel expressed confidence in both following Iamaleava's exit, the team's urgency to add Aguilar suggests otherwise.

Despite the bitter end of the Nico Iamaleava era, Tennessee still hopes to build on the success it had in 2024. In Heupel's fourth year with the team, the Volunteers made their first College Football Playoffs appearance and ended the season ranked at No. 9 in the final AP poll. Heupel has led them to three finishes with a ranking in the final poll, the program's longest streak since 1999.