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With Joey Aguilar eligibility hearing set, could QB return to Tennessee football?
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- With Joey Aguilar eligibility hearing set, could QB return to Tennessee football?
A hearing has been set for Feb. 10 in Tennessee quarterback Joey Aguilar 's attempt to get an additional year of eligibility through a preliminary injunction in federal court.
Aguilar is a plaintiff in former Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia's federal lawsuit against the NCAA that challenges the association's eligibility rules involving former junior college players. Aguilar is among several players hoping for the court to strike down those NCAA rules.
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At the hearing in Nashville, Judge William Campbell will hear expert testimony, review affidavits and consider arguments from NCAA attorneys and lawyers representing Aguilar and other players, according to court records obtained by Knox News.
Aguilar, UT's 2025 starting quarterback, has exhausted his eligibility. But if Campbell grants a preliminary injunction halting the NCAA eligibility rules involving former junior college players, Aguilar would retain his eligibility and have the option to play college football in 2026.
If Campbell denies the request for an injunction, Aguilar's college career is over. Pavia, who initially filed the lawsuit in 2024, will not return to college next season, even if his case is successful. He has declared for the 2026 NFL Draft.
On Jan. 15, Campbell denied a request for a preliminary injunction in a similar case, where college football players sought to play a fifth season. They were challenging the NCAA redshirt rule, which allows an athlete to compete in four seasons over five years.
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Could Joey Aguilar still play for Tennessee in 2026 season?
Tennessee failed to get an established starting quarterback from the transfer portal. Aguilar, who led the SEC with 3,565 passing yards, would certainly qualify if he regains his eligibility.
UT showed interest in Cincinnati's Brendan Sorby, but he quickly signed with Texas Tech. It tried to land Arizona State's Sam Leavitt , the No. 1 rated player in the portal. But LSU and Lane Kiffin got Leavitt.
Then UT hosted Missouri quarterback Beau Pribula , a mid-tier starter. He signed with Virginia instead.
Ultimately, the Vols added Colorado backup Ryan Staub, who will provide depth alongside young quarterbacks George MacIntyre and Faizon Brandon .
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MacIntyre is a former four-star recruit who will be a redshirt freshman in 2026. He completed 7 of 9 passes for 69 yards in two games in 2025. Brandon is a five-star signee who enrolled at UT in January. He was ranked the No. 3 quarterback in the 2026 class by 247Sports Composite.
Aguilar's odds of success in court appear low. But if he wins a preliminary injunction, he would be a viable option for the Vols.
Here's how Aguilar could re-enroll at Tennessee if he won in court
There would be academic hurdles. UT classes for the spring semester begin Jan. 20, long before the NCAA hearing. And Aguilar is no longer enrolled.
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However, UT also offers a mini-session, giving students the option to cram a course into a condensed time frame during a half-semester. The session runs from March 18 to May 7.
UT football players have utilized it before. In 2024, freshmen Kaleb Beasley and Edwin Spillman enrolled in mid-March on the first day of spring practice.
But that's only a possibility if Aguilar can pull off an improbable win in federal court. Plus, he is recovering from surgery on Jan. 2 to remove a benign tumor on his arm, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported. He'll be in recovery through late February.
Here is Aguilar's argument against NCAA 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.
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Pavia's lawsuit, which includes Aguilar, seeks to change the eligibility rules, where junior college competition wouldn't factor into NCAA seasons of eligibility or an athlete's eligibility clock. Only seasons at an NCAA institution would count as part of NCAA eligibility.
That means the 24-year-old Aguilar, who started his career in junior college, would get one more season to play. He already has spent seven years in college football, but only three seasons at NCAA member schools.
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 in Pleasant Hill, California.
His NCAA career began in 2023 when he played at Appalachian State. He transferred to UCLA for spring 2025, and then he transferred to Tennessee in essentially a quarterback swap involving Nico Iamaleava.
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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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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Joey Aguilar: NCAA eligibility hearing set for Tennessee football quarterback
