I know. It’s early. Please bear with me.

I’m well aware that Syracuse didn’t provide an overwhelming challenge to the Tennessee football offense last week in a 45-26 romp that didn’t even feel that close. However, I saw enough from UT quarterback Joey Aguilar to believe that the Vols might just have one of the top quarterback situations in the SEC.

That’s not just based on Aguilar nor his play last week. There’s more to it than that. Let me explain.

Let’s begin with this: Aguilar will be put in a better position to succeed because of Tennessee’s offense and its head coach. History proves as much. The Vols got the best out of former Vol Hendon Hooker, who hasn’t exactly panned out in the NFL despite being one of the top players in college football in 2022.

Yet that’s not all.

Heupel and crew got the best out of former Vol Joe Milton III, who had serious accuracy issues. While accuracy wasn’t an issue with former UT quarterback Nico Iamaleava, decision-making and confidence in the pocket were well below elite quarterback standards.

Considering those shortcomings and off-field distractions, Heupel got the best out of Iamaleava that he could muster in his first and only starting season in Knoxville. Therefore, I’d be surprised if Aguilar isn’t considered one of the top quarterbacks in the SEC when all is said and done.

We all know Aguilar will look stellar against ETSU on Saturday, but that won’t define him. His play against Georgia the following week and against top-flight competition later this season will do that. I’m not sure if Aguilar will be a superstar, but I doubt seriously he’ll fall flat on his face.

Aguilar is mature, has great pocket presence and throws a great deep ball. The latter will force defenses to back up to avoid those kinds of plays that Hooker made repeatedly in 2022. That will open things up underneath.

In other words, Aguilar’s competition level is about to go up, but defenses have to adjust to his play as well. Opposing defense, beginning this week, will play more conservative after seeing what Aguilar did against Syracuse. Aguilar’s talents are enough to be considered very good, especially with Heupel in charge.

So where will Aguilar rank among the best quarterbacks in the SEC when the season is complete? That’s complicated.

I have trouble placing him above LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier or South Carolina’s LaNorris Sellers, who were named first and second-team All-SEC quarterbacks before the season began. However, I don’t think he’ll be much lower than third-best in the conference.

Third-team All-SEC quarterback D.J. Lagway hasn’t shown enough for me to believe the Florida quarterback is significantly better – if at all – than Aguilar. Again, let’s keep this in context. Aguilar has a head coach that is all about quarterbacks and an attacking offense.

The quarterbacks listed above don’t have that – at least not in the same sense that Aguilar does.

I’m sure that Ole Miss quarterback Austin Simmons will rank among the tops in the SEC when the season is complete. He has a quarterback savant on his side with head coach Lane Kiffin, much like Aguilar has in Heupel.

However, Simmons is in a dicey situation. If the Rebels stumble, could Trinidad Chambliss get more snaps under center? Chambliss is a change-of-pace quarterback currently, but things could go south. If so, could Simmons start looking over his shoulder?

Quarterbacks like Oklahoma’s John Mateer and Arkansas’ Taylen Green could end up being better than Aguilar, but not significantly so.

I’d be stunned if Aguilar doesn’t rank among the top five quarterbacks in the SEC when the season is complete. I also wouldn’t be surprised if he landed a spot on the All-SEC list.

Heupel has proven he can win with sub-par quarterback play. He did so last season when the Vols made the College Football Playoffs despite Iamaleava’s passer raring being tenth in the SEC and 76th in the nation.

Heupel doesn’t have to worry about overcoming deficiencies under center this season. He’s in much better hands with Aguilar in charge. In fact, there’s reason to believe Tennessee football will have one of the best quarterback situations in the SEC. Yes, I know it’s early.