Joey Aguilar faced his first test of the season as the Tennessee football quarterback against Syracuse, and he passed.
He didn’t get an A, but he got a strong grade.
Aguilar, the transfer from Appalachian State, misfired on several passes – mostly high — in the first quarter, and was involved in a lost fumble.
But after a shaky start, Aguilar settled down. He connected on a 73-yard strike to Braylen Staley, introducing the explosive plays that have been so rare for Tennessee the last two years. He threw strikes over the middle, reclaiming an area of the field UT had nearly abandoned recently.
And he helped Tennessee answer with scores when Syracuse kept within shouting distance, delivering a 45-26 victory in the season opener in Atlanta, and engineering 493 total yards with first-half touchdown drives of 75, 75 and 85 yards.
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Aguilar finished 16 of 26 for 247 yards and three touchdowns in an efficient performance. He ran for 34 yards on six carries and looked comfortable running Josh Heupel’s offense despite a limited amount of practice, arriving in Knoxville in May.
Aguilar had the best passing debut in the first start for a quarterback under Josh Heupel at Tennessee. His 247 passing yards exceeded the 139 in Joe Milton’s debut, Hendon Hooker’s 199 in his debut and Nico Iamaleava’s 151 and six sacks in his debut, though Nico did rush for three touchdowns against Iowa.
No doubt Aguilar performed well, but he must improve his accuracy, especially on some short balls that he sailed high. He certainly looked like a quarterback that can steer Tennessee to a better offensive output than a year ago.
“I thought in lot of ways he was like he was in practice, very involved, very poised and that lends itself to being consistent,” Heupel said. “He made some big throws downfield. He made some throws off schedule that you need in this game.”
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While Aguilar got the job done, so did the running backs. Duke transfer Star Thomas led the way with 92 yards on 12 carries and caught a touchdown pass. DeSean Biship ripped through the ‘Cuse’s defense for 82 yards, including a huge 47-yard run in which he was rocked at the line of scrimmage, broke free and put the Vols in position to take a 31-14 lead late in the first half after Syracuse cut the Tennessee football lead to 10 points.
Peyton Lewis contributed 38 yards and a score as the Vols, who led the SEC in rushing last year with 225.8 per game, gained 246 yards against a team that won 10 games a year ago.
UT also did not allow a sack.
This behind an offensive line that played without projected starter David Sanders Jr., who was out with an illness. Redshirt freshman Jesse Perry, expected to start at guard, got the nod at right tackle while Shamurad Umarov got his first start at left guard. For a unit that lost four starters from a year ago and had four linemen make their first UT start, the line did an admirable job.
“Credit to (offensive line) coach (Glen) Elarbee and our offensive line staff to get these guys prepared to where if something happens, they’re ready to play at a high level,” Heupel said. “It was a really good start for our offensive line group.”
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On the flip side, the defense had its good and bad moments. Cornerback Colton Hood, the Colorado transfer starting for the injured Jermod McCoy, returned a fumble 23 yards for a touchdown after backup defensive tackle Nathan Robinson stripped Syracuse quarterback Steve Angeli.
Cornerback Jalen McMurray tipped a pass intercepted by Jeremiah Telander and recorded a sack after making a limited impact a year ago.
The defense not only scored a touchdown but recorded five sacks and seven tackles for loss, running the TFL number to over 400 in defensive coordinator Tim Banks’ five-plus seasons.
However, Tennessee football had trouble stopping running back Yasin Willis, who had 91 yards and three touchdowns on 23 carries. And while the defensive backs made some plays, Angeli threw for 274 yards and found holes in the secondary.
Overall, though, the secondary made some huge plays in the absence of McCoy.
“We had a competitive maturity in this football game,” Heupel said. “So many positives to take away.”
That included a number of inexperienced players forced to step up on a big stage.
“Our young guys did not play young in this game,” Heupel said.
That’s a good sign for a young team.
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