Tennessee HC Josh Heupel is in a weird position approaching the transfer portal. There’s still no update on Joey Aguilar’s status on whether he would be eligible to play for one more season. With the portal window opening in two weeks, the head coach comes out clean with the quarterback position.

Josh Heupel, during the Dec. 18 press conference, revealed how they’re planning for the quarterback position for the Music City Bowl and the Transfer portal. The coach revealed that they’ll push George MacIntyre for the backup role and look to bring quarterbacks to Knoxville from the Transfer Portal, who can help them compete for a national championship.

“Yeah, I think it’s like your entire roster where there are moving pieces,” said Josh Heupel. “And Jake made a choice that he felt was right for him, and we support him. Jake has been a great teammate while he has been here, and grown and competed. Obviously, George (MacIntyre) will be the number two here going into the bowl game.

And then as we finish that up and (Merklinger) enters the portal, with everything that’s going on with Joey and all those pieces, we’ll look to put that position in a room to help us go compete for a championship.”

It’s the most logical and practical approach to the postseason, as Tennessee lacks depth at the quarterback position. If Joey Aguilar is granted a waiver, he could take on the QB1 position, since he’s the most experienced quarterback. If not, that puts Josh Heupel to only choose between the redshirt freshman George MacIntyre and true freshman Faizon Brandon, as the backup QB Jake Merklinger announced his interest in entering the transfer portal.

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The coach then revealed that he doesn’t have any specific date in mind when it comes to answering Joey Aguilar’s future.

Joey Aguilar’s status and legal proceedings for an NCAA waiver

Vanderbilt’s senior QB, Diego Pavia, filed a lawsuit on Nov. 21 challenging the NCAA’s junior college rule to gain an extra year of eligibility. Joey Aguilar was one of the plaintiffs added to the amended complaint filed in the Nashville federal court.

The deadline for the NCAA to respond to that amended complaint is Dec. 19, and the court will consider if any action can be taken. Instead of the NCAA, the judge should grant an injunction to grant Aguilar’s eligibility for Aguilar to return to Tennessee for 2026.

This causes uncertainty, as Aguilar himself is unsure whether he will return to Tennessee again or whether the Music City Bowl game against Illinois on Dec. 30 will be the last game of his collegiate career.

“If it’s my last game or not, I’m excited to go out there with this team one more time,” Aguilar said on Dec. 16, following an on-campus UT practice for the bowl game. “I will) Just focus on this season and pursue what I want to pursue afterwards. I guess I’ll figure it out after the bowl game.”

Heupel and fans are hoping for Aguilar’s return, as the 24-year-old led the SEC with 3,444 passing yards, which is the fourth-highest single-season record in the school’s history. It would be interesting to see how the court result unfolds in the upcoming hearings.