UCLA has landed its likely successor to quarterback Ethan Garbers.
His name is Joey Aguilar, and he’s put up prolific numbers the last two seasons at Appalachian State while leading the Mountaineers to a bowl victory, not to mention a triumph over the coach who will be his offensive coordinator with the Bruins.
Aguilar, who announced his commitment to UCLA on social media Saturday evening, threw the winning touchdown pass in overtime to lift Appalachian State to a victory over then-unbeaten James Madison late in 2023 when the Dukes staff included Tino Sunseri, who will become the Bruins offensive coordinator in 2025 after one season at Indiana.
During his two seasons at Appalachian State, Aguilar completed 60% of his passes for 6,760 yards and 56 touchdowns with 24 interceptions. The native of Antioch, Calif., who spent two seasons at Diablo Valley Community College in central California, also showed an ability to generate yardage on the ground, rushing for 456 yards and five touchdowns in two seasons with the Mountaineers.
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In 2023, Aguilar was selected the Sun Belt Conference’s newcomer of the year after leading Appalachian State to a 9-5 record that included a victory over Miami (Ohio) in the Avocados from Mexico Cure Bowl. The Mountaineers backslid to a 5-6 record last season, when Aguilar’s production dipped and he completed 56% of his passes for 3,003 yards with 23 touchdowns and 14 interceptions.
Aguilar gained one final season of eligibility after quarterback Diego Pavia won a court challenge to grant additional eligibility for players who had competed at the junior college level.
With Garbers having exhausted his eligibility and top backup Justyn Martin having transferred to Maryland, Aguilar is the clear frontrunner to start UCLA’s season opener against Utah on Aug. 30 at the Rose Bowl.
No other quarterback on the Bruins roster has any college experience. Other options include redshirt freshman Dermaricus Davis, who was injured last season; redshirt freshman Henry Hasselbeck, the son of former NFL quarterback Matt Hasselbeck; redshirt sophomore Luke Duncan; redshirt senior Nick Billoups; redshirt freshman Karson Gordon, who may move to wide receiver; freshman Colton Gumino, a three-star high school prospect; and freshman Robert McDaniel, who was once committed to Arizona before Sunseri helped flip his commitment to UCLA.
Barring an unforeseen development, the starting job appears to be Aguilar’s to lose.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
