Tennessee was the laughing stock of the SEC this offseason after former star QB Nico Iamaleava entered the Transfer Portal and headed west to UCLA. Most SEC fans thought this would have ruined any chance the Volunteers would be good this season, but that has not been the case.
Tennessee is off to a dominant 2-0 start after comfortably beating Syracuse and eclipsing 70 points last week against East Tennessee State. So it's clear to see that Tennessee does not miss Iamaleava whatsoever.
However, the biggest problem facing Georgia this weekend when they travel to Tennessee is ironically Iamaleava no longer being there, because his replacement Joey Aguilar has already proven to be a much better player.
New Tennessee QB presents a major problem for Georgia
Aguilar is off to an impressive start this season as he has completed 66 percent of his passes (career high) for 535 yards, five touchdowns and zero interceptions. Iamaleava on the other hand has only completed 63.5 percent of his passes for 391 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions with UCLA this season. Most importantly, UCLA is 0-2 to start their season with losses to Utah and UNLV.
Based on this two game sample size it is easy to see that Tennessee actually upgraded at quarterback this offseason, which no one saw coming.
During Kirby Smart's press conference on Monday he detailed what he has seen from Aguillar so far this season and the difficulties Georgia will face going up against him this weekend.
"He's playing really efficiently. He's got great arm talent. He's a really good athlete," Smart shared via 247sports.com. "You can tell he understands the system. He gets the ball out quickly. He's been very accurate. He's had some really well-thrown balls, a couple they've dropped in crucial times. But he makes some good throws, and really a good deep-ball passer."
The good news for Georgia is that Aguilar hasn't faced a defense like Georgia in his entire career. So will his spectacular play be able to hold up against the Bulldogs?
Everyone will find out the answer to that question on Saturday.