By JACK CHURCH

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Joey Aguilar has only been in Knoxville for a shade over six months, but everyone around town knows who he is.

As they always do, fans packed around campus streets this season to see the SEC passing leader walk into Neyland Stadium week after week. But even outside of football Saturdays, everyone wants to meet Aguilar.

"I went to the mall on a Sunday, probably wasn't the best idea," Aguilar said. "I barely made it out."

With just three games to go and his legacy intact as the quarterback who salvaged what was left for the Vols after Nico Iamaleava's departure, Aguilar will leave Knoxville and go on to what's next as an appreciated member of Josh Heupel's tenure, even if the season record is short of other years.

Heupel wants more from his QB

Heupel still wants to see more improvement from his signal-caller in the last three games, but he's been appreciative of his level of experience at other levels that he's applied to the SEC.

“Certainly excited about a lot of what Joey’s done and what we’ve done offensively on that side of it," Heupel said. "There’s still room and growth left out there for us, and that’s what we’ve got to go get.”

Last season, Aguilar was the passing leader in the Sun Belt with 273 yards per game. He was going to have a shot at being the Big Ten's passing leader had Iamaleava not joined UCLA. He had one chance to be the passing leader in the SEC, and he's taken advantage so far.

Through his career, Aguilar's belief never wavered. Whether it was the Sierra Wolverines back in junior college or the Alabama Crimson Tide, the plan never changed.

"I always got faith in myself," Aguilar said. "I've produced at both levels now, I would say. I didn't come to try to put up numbers for myself. I came to compete and try to help this team win. Everything just flows with it."

Aguilar's future is vague

Aguilar is going to take a shot at playing professional football, but finding success is unlikely for the 24-year-old. There is next to no chance he will ever play in front of a crowd as large or passionate as the 101,915 that pack into Neyland Stadium following the final regular-season contest against Vanderbilt.

There have been some low points for Aguilar this season. Against Georgia, Aguilar threw two interceptions that ate into his 371-yard, four-touchdown performance. Against Alabama, an interception at the goal line completely shifted the game going into halftime. Against Oklahoma, he turned the ball over three times.

But the highs have far outweighed the lows, especially when the fan base was there for him in those tough times this season.

"I've had some bad plays this season, but the support that the community has when I'm on the field and even off the field," Aguilar said. "When I'm at the grocery store, somebody sees me getting gas or something like that, people pull up on me, ask for photos and things like that. It's been awesome"

Six years ago, Aguilar was taking a 90-minute train ride every day to the City College of San Francisco for practices while redshirting in his first year of college football. Now, he gets to games on buses with tens of thousands awaiting his arrival.

Aguilar will experience it two more times, and then his long journey in college football is over.

"It's been fun, for sure," Aguilar said. "It's been a great experience to be out here in Tennessee and be on this team. Super thankful to the fans and my teammates for accepting me."