Joey Aguilar didn’t need a bunch of snaps to make his first NFL appearance count.
The former Tennessee quarterback got his debut with the Jacksonville Jaguars on Saturday in Week 1 preseason action, and on his lone throw he went straight for the big play. With 5:33 left in the game, Aguilar dropped back and launched a deep ball down the left sideline to Trebor Pena.
The defensive back was called for defensive pass interference and illegal contact, but Jacksonville declined both penalties after the catch. One play later, the Jaguars punched in a two-yard touchdown.
Aguilar finished 1-of-1 for 43 yards, working in a quarterback group that also included Carter Bradley and Nick Mullens.
“Joey Aguilar’s first NFL completion is on a double move,” Jags head coach Liam Coen said with a laugh after the game. “Grant (Udinski) wasn’t really letting him settle in there.
It was good. Sometimes those are better, where you don’t have to think as much; you can just kind of let it rip.”
For Aguilar, the moment came after a winding path to the league. He spent one season at Tennessee, where he led the SEC in passing yards with 3,565 and threw 24 touchdowns against 10 interceptions. The Vols went 8-5 during his lone year in Knoxville.
Before that, Aguilar played two seasons at Appalachian State and two years at the junior college level. He had only spring practice to prepare for his year with Tennessee after initially transferring to UCLA, then re-entering the portal when Nico Iamaleava took his spot with the Bruins.
Now with Jacksonville as an undrafted free agent, Aguilar is trying to carve out a place for himself this summer. That’s a hard road for any rookie, but Saturday gave him a clean first snapshot in the NFL - and a deep shot that showed exactly why the Jaguars wanted to take a look.
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