Joey Aguilar Opens Up About His Tumor Injury Throughout The 2025 Season

Joey Aguilar was recently denied the opportunity to return to Tennessee for one final season, and the talented quarterback will now have the chance to be drafted in the upcoming NFL Draft. He is currently at the NFL Combine, which is used to help raise and drop the draft stock of players.

Aguilar was asked about his tumor that he was playing with, and he gave multiple key responses.

"No sir, so I had a bonign tumor in my shoulder. I had it cleaned out, and I'm early on my rehab. I would have been throwing this week if I was obviously able to stay at Tennessee, but now that I am here I will move that to next week," Aguilar stated.

He then would detail when he found the tumor in his shoulder.

"I found it early in the season, but, you know, if you got one time to play at Tennessee there's no backing down. So you got to play through it and put the team first, and also carry it on through the season," Aguilar said.

The talented prospect is hopeful to hear his name called during the NFL Draft, but even if he doesn't he will likely be added to a roster for rookie camp, which will give him the chance to compete for a spot on a professional roster or practice squad.

For those curious what Aguilar did in this recent season, here is a bio made by utsports.com.

Aguilar's 2025 With Tennessee

Tennessee quarterback Joey Aguilar (6) helps direct the band in celebration after the win over Florida in an NCAA college football game on November 22, 2025, in Gainesville, Florida. | Saul Young/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

"Tennessee’s starting quarterback in his first season with the program after being named the starter late in fall camp … Started all 13 games … Racked up 3,666 yards of total offense and accounted for 28 touchdowns … Completed 272-of-404 passes for 3,565 yards and 24 touchdowns with 10 interceptions … Rushed for 101 yards on 71 carries and four scores … Ranked in the top-25 nationally in completion percentage (21st - 67.3), passing efficiency (14th – 156.1), passing touchdowns (23rd – 24), passing yards (11th – 3,565), passing yards per game (12th – 274.2), passing yards per completion (20th – 13.1), total offense (21st – 282.0) and yards per pass attempt (14th – 8.82) … Became the second player in school history to lead the SEC in passing yards per game and the first since Randy Wallace in 1975 (109.8) … Also ranked second in the SEC in passing efficiency and fourth in total offense … His four 300-yard passing games tied for third in UT single-season history … Ranked 10th in UT single-season passing touchdowns and third in passing yards, which were the most by a Vol since 2012 … Also ranked third in UT single-season total offense, trailing only Peyton Manning (1997) and Joshua Dobbs (2016) … His 272 completions ranked third in UT single-season annals … Threw for over 200 yards in 12 of his 13 starts … Fired nine passes of 50 or more yards, which led the SEC and ranked fourth nationally … In conference-only games was even better, leading the league with 310.9 passing yards per game … Ranked second in the SEC in total offense in SEC-only games at 314.0 … Tied a season high with 29 completions for 299 yards and a touchdown on Senior Day vs. No. 12 Vanderbilt (11/29) ... Started the game 10-for-10 passing and finished 17-of-22 for 204 yards and a touchdown at Florida (11/22) to help UT snap a 10-game losing streak in Gainesville ... Posted his best completion percentage (77.3) of the season and the best of his career as a starter in the win over the Gators, becoming the first Vol QB to win there since Casey Clausen (2003) ... Completed 17 of 23 attempts for 204 yards and a touchdown on top of rushing for 24 yards and a score on three carries in win vs. New Mexico State (11/15) ... Threw for over 350 yards for the third time this season, finishing with 393 passing yards on 29 completions to go along with three touchdown passes vs. No. 18 Oklahoma (11/1) ... Was 20-for-26 passing for a season-high 396 yards (19.8 avg), while tossing three touchdowns in road win at Kentucky (10/25) ... Finished with 28 completions for 268 yards, one touchdown and one interception at No. 6 Alabama (10/18) ... Accounted for 280 total yards with 221 through the air and a season-high 59 on the ground to go along with one TD pass in win vs. Arkansas (10/11) ... Was 24-40 for 335 yards and a touchdown through the air while also adding a rushing score in road win at Mississippi State (9/27) ... Led the Vols on a late fourth-quarter scoring drive to force overtime in Starkville, going 6-for-6 passing before capping the drive with a 6-yard TD run ... Continued his impressive start to the year with another efficient performance in win vs. UAB (9/20), completing 15 of 21 pass attempts for 218 yards and three touchdowns ... Showcased his playmaking ability in SEC debut vs. No. 6 Georgia (9/13), completing 24 of 36 passes for 371 yards and tying a career high with four touchdowns while adding another score on the ground ... His 371 passing yards tied Peyton Manning (10/12/96) for the most ever by a UT player in a game against Georgia ... Three of his four passing TDs against the Bulldogs were 32 yards or longer, including 56-yard and 72-yard connections with Chris Brazzell II ... Posted the third-most consecutive completions in a game by a Tennessee quarterback with his 14-of-14 start against the Bulldogs ... Per ESPN Insights, he became the first SEC quarterback to go 14-of-14 (or better) in any quarter over the last 20 seasons (2006-25) ... Was extremely efficient in just one half of work in his Neyland Stadium debut vs. ETSU (9/6), leading UT to 48 first-half points while completing 23-of-31 pass attempts for 288 yards and two touchdowns, including a 53-yarder to Mike Matthews in the second quarter ... Impressed in his Tennessee debut, leading the Vols to 493 yards of total offense in a 45-26 victory over Syracuse (8/30) in the Aflac Kickoff Game ... Was 16-28 for 247 yards and three touchdowns through the air against the Orange, including a 73- yard deep ball for a score to Braylon Staley early in the second quarter, marking the longest completion by an SEC player in Week 1 ... Added 34 yards on six carries to finish with 281 yards of total offense in the opener."