Dale Jones comments on Aguilar

[YankeeVol]

Perhaps we should be more concerned with our replacements at RB. Since Nico became more a game manager with the threat of a 50-50 ball, JA will almost certainly fill that role. Just guessin'.

RB room is fine.

Star Thomas (NMSU, Duke)
Bishop
Lewis
Duan Morris
Justin Baker

 

[VolPack22]

Funny thing, he messed with my buddy in the passenger seat. I had to apologize to my buddy.

I would have blamed it on my buddy to begin with and apologized for him being inebriated.

 

[superdave1984]

I will hold my opinions on JA until I actually see him in a game for the Vols. Maybe he is Manning, maybe he is Peterman. Probably somewhere in between.

 

[ButchPlz]

QB is as much brains as talent. Nico may have had talent, but didn't have the brains and so he couldn't execute.

Hendon Hooker ended up pretty badly at Va Tech, came here and got his mind right and thrived. The thing is, dudes at this level almost always have talent- they just need the rest to go with it.

 

[SayUWantAreVOLution]

QB is as much brains as talent. Nico may have had talent, but didn't have the brains and so he couldn't execute.

Hendon Hooker ended up pretty badly at Va Tech, came here and got his mind right and thrived. The thing is, dudes at this level almost always have talent- they just need the rest to go with it.

The problem with that argument is Joey Aguilar's level was the SunBelt Conference. I'm not sure many SunBelt Conference QBs have SEC talent.

While there are exceptions, to get to the SunBelt as a QB, you have been passed on by the SEC, B1G, ACC, Big 10, etc. I can assume ALL those coaches were wrong, I guess, or that Joey Aguilar really developed incredibly well at App State, I suppose, but the fact is he was a SunBelt Conference QB for a couple of years after JUCO, I believe.

I like my orange tinted glasses but......

 

[Bigorangefaninga]

The problem with that argument is Joey Aguilar's level was the SunBelt Conference. I'm not sure many SunBelt Conference QBs have SEC talent.

While there are exceptions, to get to the SunBelt as a QB, you have been passed on by the SEC, B1G, ACC, Big 10, etc. I can assume ALL those coaches were wrong, I guess, or that Joey Aguilar really developed incredibly well at App State, I suppose, but the fact is he was a SunBelt Conference QB for a couple of years after JUCO, I believe.

I like my orange tinted glasses but......

And yet Nico went from TN to UCLA who sucks at football and I’m pretty sure aren’t going to be good this season either. Appy State has prob been as good as UCLA has been if not better last few years. They are usually a pretty good program and Joey A led them to a 9-5 season in 2023. So not all SEC, Big 10 or Big 12 programs are created equal. Maybe not last year but lots of years Appy would have beaten Ms State or UCLA and some of those terrible ACC teams. Also by the way I think Diego Pavia did really well at Vandy and did he come from a P4 school? I just know he breathed new life into that program.

 

[SayUWantAreVOLution]

And yet Nico went from TN to UCLA who sucks at football and I’m pretty sure aren’t going to be good this season either. Appy State has prob been as good as UCLA has been if not better last few years. They are usually a pretty good program and Joey A led them to a 9-5 season in 2023. So not all SEC, Big 10 or Big 12 programs are created equal. Maybe not last year but lots of years Appy would have beaten Ms State or UCLA and some of those terrible ACC teams. Also by the way I think Diego Pavia did really well at Vandy and did he come from a P4 school? I just know he breathed new life into that program.

There ARE exceptions but usually if ALL SEC, B1G, ACC, and Big 10 programs took a pass on you, there was a reason. Maybe Aguilar DID develop like Pavia but you have to admit NO ONE saw Pavia being as dynamic as he was. We'd have all bet against it...... all day, every day. As a matter of fact, I think many of us expect Vandy to come back down to earth this season, even with Pavia coming back.

Longshots DO come in sometimes but that's not usually the case. That's just reality.

 

[Johnnycatvol]

I made the mistake of laying on my horn at the car in front of me on campus one night.

The driver of that vehicle was Dale Jones.

I've heard of him whoopin' some ass in that same situation before

 

[OffTackleVol]

I made the mistake of laying on my horn at the car in front of me on campus one night.

The driver of that vehicle was Dale Jones.

One of my college buddies was leaving Ivy's one night and backed his van into a highly inebriated Bill Marron. The two friends with Marron simply told him to leave.........fast, and don't look back.

 

[WillisWG]

I made the mistake of laying on my horn at the car in front of me on campus one night.

The driver of that vehicle was Dale Jones.

and you live to tell the story

 

[bigorangedude]

Dale was on Doug Mathews show this morning. Dale said JA “could make all the throws & can run the ball effectively.” He added JA wasn’t afraid to make a throw.

Says he’s retired from coaching & still living in Boone.

Whatever Dale Jones is selling, I'm buying. I witnessed DJ making one of the greatest plays in Tennessee football history in 1984 at Legion Field.

 

[Alto1]

Whatever Dale Jones is selling, I'm buying. I witnessed DJ making one of the greatest plays in Tennessee football history in 1984 at Legion Field.

Would love to see a video of that incredible interception!
That was PRICELESS!!

 

[deatojl]

There ARE exceptions but usually if ALL SEC, B1G, ACC, and Big 10 programs took a pass on you, there was a reason. Maybe Aguilar DID develop like Pavia but you have to admit NO ONE saw Pavia being as dynamic as he was. We'd have all bet against it...... all day, every day. As a matter of fact, I think many of us expect Vandy to come back down to earth this season, even with Pavia coming back.

Longshots DO come in sometimes but that's not usually the case. That's just reality.

I have no idea how Joey Aguilar will perform for the Vols this season. QBs not starting out at a P4 school isn't necessarily indicative of their talent level nor does it mean they were "passed on" by every power 4 school. Often times, guys like that are simply overlooked during the recruiting process, they go to non P4 schools to get more playing time, etc. Nearly 10% of current starting NFL QB were non P4 guys. Joe Flacco is a Superbowl champion and Superbowl MVP. Josh Allen is an NFL MVP and has led his team to 6 straight playoffs. Jordan Love has led his team to two straight playoffs. All three were first round draft picks. Josh Allen threw 21 Ints in two seasons as a starter in college. Jordan Love threw 29 Ints in three seasons as a starter in college(20/17 TD/INT ratio his last season). Joe Flacco threw 15 Ints in two seasons as a starter in college.

 

[Bigorangefaninga]

There ARE exceptions but usually if ALL SEC, B1G, ACC, and Big 10 programs took a pass on you, there was a reason. Maybe Aguilar DID develop like Pavia but you have to admit NO ONE saw Pavia being as dynamic as he was. We'd have all bet against it...... all day, every day. As a matter of fact, I think many of us expect Vandy to come back down to earth this season, even with Pavia coming back.

Longshots DO come in sometimes but that's not usually the case. That's just reality.

There’s plenty of QB’s that do that! Good amount of QB’s in the pros right now that played for Non P4 teams. JA might come in and suck we just have no idea at this point. But considering we went to the playoffs with a guy that couldn’t throw a deep pass if his life depended on it, that supposedly was ultra talented. JA can prob provide more than our supposed 5 star did.

 

[SayUWantAreVOLution]

I have no idea how Joey Aguilar will perform for the Vols this season. QBs not starting out at a P4 school isn't necessarily indicative of their talent level nor does it mean they were "passed on" by every power 4 school. Often times, guys like that are simply overlooked during the recruiting process, they go to non P4 schools to get more playing time, etc. Nearly 10% of current starting NFL QB were non P4 guys. Joe Flacco is a Superbowl champion and Superbowl MVP. Josh Allen is an NFL MVP and has led his team to 6 straight playoffs. Jordan Love has led his team to two straight playoffs. All three were first round draft picks. Josh Allen threw 21 Ints in two seasons as a starter in college. Jordan Love threw 29 Ints in three seasons as a starter in college(20/17 TD/INT ratio his last season). Joe Flacco threw 15 Ints in two seasons as a starter in college.

I'll just ask if you think Joey Aguilar is anywhere near being a first rounder even if he has a stellar season at UT? Those odds are long.

Let's look at it this way, if Nico had left earlier and Josh had pulled Aguilar from the portal when UCLA did, we'd all be scratching our heads over WTH is Josh doing getting this guy? There would be a lot of "who is this guy?" and why didn't we recruit better.

Just because Joey Aguilar was what we could get at a late hour doesn't mean we have to make him out to be more than he is: a SunBelt Conference QB who managed to move up to UCLA, which wasn't a great P4 place to move to by everyone's agreement, then he hit the lottery when Nico showed his butt and we took him because we simply had to have a QB and he was the best available.

How will he play for us? I hope he beats all expectations. Personally, however, my expectations as very tempered because a year ago we'd have never thought.......I wish we had Joey Aguilar instead of Nico.

We might've wished for other QBs to replace Nico but let's be honest, Joey Aguilar wasn't on our radar.

 

[901 Orange]

QB is as much brains as talent. Nico may have had talent, but didn't have the brains and so he couldn't execute.

Hendon Hooker ended up pretty badly at Va Tech, came here and got his mind right and thrived. The thing is, dudes at this level almost always have talent- they just need the rest to go with it.

I think you would have been spot on to say guys at this level ALWAYS have talent. From that point it's all up to coaching, scheme, work ethic, & the ability to process and retain what's being taught. Bo Nix for example, I thought he was talented coming out but I also didn't think he was a good QB at Auburn. He goes to Oregon and looks like a completely different guy. That talent was always there. He just needed the right place to mold him for it to show.

 

[volbound1700]

I think you would have been spot on to say guys at this level ALWAYS have talent. From that point it's all up to coaching, scheme, work ethic, & the ability to process and retain what's being taught. Bo Nix for example, I thought he was talented coming out but I also didn't think he was a good QB at Auburn. He goes to Oregon and looks like a completely different guy. That talent was always there. He just needed the right place to mold him for it to show.

With QBs, I think another component is how they interactive with their other teammates (notably WRs). It isn't just whether they connect with these guys but also they need to understand their speed and how they cut to know where to place the ball.

Football is very much a team sport.

 

[JustFunnN'Orange]

What a great Vol! Watching him help dismantle Testaverde & the 'Canes at the '86 Sugar Bowl is my favorite UT football memory. That night was electric.

I agree FS! I was there! Didn't go to bed till 10:00 next morning!

 

[deatojl]

I'll just ask if you think Joey Aguilar is anywhere near being a first rounder even if he has a stellar season at UT? Those odds are long.

Let's look at it this way, if Nico had left earlier and Josh had pulled Aguilar from the portal when UCLA did, we'd all be scratching our heads over WTH is Josh doing getting this guy? There would be a lot of "who is this guy?" and why didn't we recruit better.

Just because Joey Aguilar was what we could get at a late hour doesn't mean we have to make him out to be more than he is: a SunBelt Conference QB who managed to move up to UCLA, which wasn't a great P4 place to move to by everyone's agreement, then he hit the lottery when Nico showed his butt and we took him because we simply had to have a QB and he was the best available.

How will he play for us? I hope he beats all expectations. Personally, however, my expectations as very tempered because a year ago we'd have never thought.......I wish we had Joey Aguilar instead of Nico.

We might've wished for other QBs to replace Nico but let's be honest, Joey Aguilar wasn't on our radar.

Like I said, I have no idea how he will perform. I do know that Jordan Love threw 20 Tds and 17 picks his Junior season at Utah St and was a first round draft pick. I also acknowledge that Aguilar is having to learn a new offense without a spring camp, which is very difficult. My only point in my previous post is that he can't just be written off simply because his playing time has been at Appy St. and he has thrown 26 picks in two seasons. He has also thrown 56 TDs in that time. For comparison, Jordan Love's split was 60/29 in three seasons, Josh Allen's was 44/21 in two seasons as a starter and Joe Flacco's was 41/15 in two seasons as a starter. All three of those guys faced similar levels of competition.

 

[VolinMichigan]

The problem with that argument is Joey Aguilar's level was the SunBelt Conference. I'm not sure many SunBelt Conference QBs have SEC talent.

While there are exceptions, to get to the SunBelt as a QB, you have been passed on by the SEC, B1G, ACC, Big 10, etc. I can assume ALL those coaches were wrong, I guess, or that Joey Aguilar really developed incredibly well at App State, I suppose, but the fact is he was a SunBelt Conference QB for a couple of years after JUCO, I believe.

I like my orange tinted glasses but......

Meh, Hendon Hooker couldn’t stay on the field at Va Tech, and look what he did here. Give the kid a chance before you write him off.

 

[superdave1984]

Folks who bash a QB because he played at a smaller school also need to realax. The overall team talent level may be lower, but you just never know about a guy's determination to play. Maybe he needed some time in the weight room, maybe he needed some coaching and film study time, maybe his high school coach did a crappy job of getting teams to look at him. I have no idea. Give the guy a chance before passing judgement.

 

[PEPPERJAX]

JA certainly knows how to throw it to the other team

He has tossed his fair share of picks. However, Heupel sees something to work with in JA and that gives me some confidence. The guy has also thrown for quite a few TDs as well.

 

[Devo182]

QB is as much brains as talent. Nico may have had talent, but didn't have the brains and so he couldn't execute.

Hendon Hooker ended up pretty badly at Va Tech, came here and got his mind right and thrived. The thing is, dudes at this level almost always have talent- they just need the rest to go with it.

Nico was in the top-half of the SEC, the toughest league in the country, as a 1st year starter lol. He processed well enough as a young'en, but needed more experience to reach the next level. He's not Harrison Bailey haha. HH was a vet when he showed up and left the greatest UT QB of all-time. Quite a bar.

We'll be very lucky if our QB in 2025 ends up 7th out of 16 SEC QBs, imo. I hold out some hope just because of CJH and his elite scheme.

 

[KTrain]

I will hold my opinions on JA until I actually see him in a game for the Vols. Maybe he is Manning, maybe he is Peterman. Probably somewhere in between.

Both had many years in NFL, so I guess this is good.

 

[KTrain]

Folks who bash a QB because he played at a smaller school also need to realax. The overall team talent level may be lower, but you just never know about a guy's determination to play. Maybe he needed some time in the weight room, maybe he needed some coaching and film study time, maybe his high school coach did a crappy job of getting teams to look at him. I have no idea. Give the guy a chance before passing judgement.

Agree lot of NFL QBs played at small schools but NFL still found them Steve Mcnair, Steve Deberg, Romo, Rothlisberger, Flaco, Carson Wentz, Culpepper, Dilfer, Pennington, Leftwich and Aaron Rogers started at Juco no D1 offers and made his way to California and on his way to hall of Fame.