Tennessee’s Joey Aguilar, Texas A&M’s KC Concepcion co-Players of the Week
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Xavier Andrade,
- October 27, 2025
Joey Aguilar, KC Concepcion lead Latinos in College Football in Week 9
In almost any other week, Tennessee quarterback Joey Aguilar would be the easy choice for Our Esquina’s Latino College Football Player of the Week. The same would be said for Texas A&M receiver/punt returned KC Concepcion.
Aguilar and Concepcion had the types of performances that Tennessee and Texas A&M fans will remember for decades. They were brilliant and electric, so it’s only fitting that they are Our Esquina’s co-Players of the Week for Week 9 in college football.
Joey Aguilar, a graduate transfer from App State, threw for a season-high 396 passing yards with three touchdowns to beat Kentucky 396 yards. The 396 yards were the second most Aguilar had thrown in college behind only the 424 yards he had for App State against East Carolina on Sept. 14, 2024.
Joey Aguilar eclipses 300-yard mark again
Two days after he was added to the Manning Award watch list, Aguilar completed 20 of 26 pass attempts with no interceptions. Joey Aguilar, who threw for 371 yards against Georgia in September, has thrown over 300 yards twice this season. The 6-foot-3, 225-pounder from Antioch, Calif., also has rushed for 91 yards and two touchdowns on 37 carries.
He has thrown for an SEC-leading 2,344 yards and 18 touchdowns while completing 166 of his 252 pass attempts. Aguilar has thrown at least three touchdowns four times this season with a season-high four against Georgia on Sept. 13.
The 396 passing yards were the most by a Tennessee quarterback since Jarrett Guarantano had 415 at Missouri on Nov. 23, 2019, long before Josh Heupel took over as coach.
Considering the competition, KC Concepcion’s performance against then-No. 20 ranked LSU was equally impressive if not more. Concepcion finished with 177 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns while helping the Aggies rout LSU in Death Valley.
Concepcion had three catches for 45 yards and a touchdown in the third-ranked Aggies’ 49-25 victory. He returned three punts for 132 yards, highlighted by a 79-yard punt return for a touchdown.
Electric KC Concepcion
Concepcion sandwiched his TD punt return between runs of 14 yards and 39 yards. He also had a 15-yard touchdown reception. Concepcion wasn’t the only Latino playing a pivotal role for the Aggies.
Freshman defensive lineman Marco Jones finished second in tackles for the Aggies against LSU. He had five tackles (two solo) with half a sack. Jones has 2 ½ sacks this season, including 1 ½ over the last two games. Junior captain Taurean York added four tackles for the Aggies in the victory.
LSU kicker Damian Ramos made a 30-yard field goal in the loss. He made 2 of 3 PATs. Here’s how most of the other Latinos in Division I football performed in Week 9:
Alabama tight end Josh Cuevas made three catches for 16 yards and a touchdown in the 29-22 victory over South Carolina. Diego Pavia led Vanderbilt to an impressive 17-10 road victory over Missouri. He completed 10 of 19 pass attempts for 129 yards with one interception.
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Pavia also rushed for 20 yards and a touchdown on eight carries. Missouri’s Nicholas Rodriguez had three tackles and half a sack in the loss. Kentucky tight end Willie Rodriguez had two catches for 28 yards in the loss.
Pitt senior defensive back Kavir Bains-Marquez had four tackles (three solo) in Pitts’ 53-34 victory over NC state. Miami linebacker Raul Aguirre Jr. had two tackles in the 42-7 victory over Stanford. Jahsiah Galvan had six tackles (two solo) for Stanford.
Mendoza brothers run all over UCLA
Fernando Mendoza had a modest day while guiding No. 2 Indiana to an impressive 56-6 rout over UCLA. He completed 15 of 22 passes for 168 yards and three touchdowns with one interception.
Mendoza added 45 rushing yards with a rushing touchdown on five carries. His younger brother Alberto Mendoza also scored a rushing touchdown while rushing for 49 yards on four carries with a long of 26 yards. Alberto Mendoza completed 4 of 7 pass attempts for 45 yards with one interception.
Anthony Frias II led the Bruins with 31 rushing yards on six carries in the loss. Rico Flores Jr. added 50 receiving yards on four catches for UCLA.
University of Houston’s kicker Ethan Sanchez made a 26-yard field goal and was 3-for-3 in extra points in the Cougar’s 24-16 victory against Arizona State. Jesus Gomez missed his first two field goal attempts for Arizona State. He nailed a 47-yard field goal in the loss. Colorado kicker Alejandro Mata made a PAT in Colorado’s 53-7 loss against Utah.
Arizona State receiver Derek Eusebio had two catches for 12 yards. Kansas State safety Gunner Maldonado recorded five tackles (three solo) in the Wildcats’ 42-17 victory over Kansas. Kicker Luis Rodriguez went 6-for-6 on extra points.
Jacob Rodriguez creates a fumble rumble
Texas Tech linebacker Jacob Rodriguez had one of the most impressive touchdowns of the weekend. The preseason Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year ripped the ball out of the running back’s possession and ran the fumble back 69 yards for a touchdown.
Rodriguez had 10 tackles (six solo) in the Red Raiders’ 42-0 victory against Oklahoma State.
North Carolina quarterback Gio Lopez completed 23 of 26 attempts and threw for 208 yards with a touchdown in their 17-16 overtime loss against Virginia. Kent State defensive back Joel Cordoba had a game-high 13 tackles in a 24-21 victory over Bowling Green.
Running back Gavin Garcia carried the ball six times for 53 yards and a touchdown in the win. Bowling Green wide receiver RJ Garcia II caught three passes for 48 yards.
Central Michigan quarterback Angel Flores carried the ball eight times for 63 yards and a touchdown while completing two passes for 75 yards in a 38-13 win over UMass.
San Diego State kicker Gabriel Plascencia made 3 of 3 field goal attempts in a 23-0 victory over Fresno State. He made a 50-yard field goal and went 2 for 2 on extra points. Brandon Ramirez carried the ball four times for 18 yards for Fresno State.
Parker Navarro sets career high
Quarterback Parker Navarro threw a career-high 315 passing yards helping Ohio beat Eastern Michigan 28-21. Navarro also completed 23 of his 28 pass attempts with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Freshman defensive lineman Hector Gonzalez recorded one tackle in Eastern Michigan’s loss.
UL Monroe wide receiver Nic Trujillo caught four passes for 19 yards in a 21-49 loss to Southern Miss. tight-end Jackson Verdugo had one reception for 21 yards in the Panthers’ 26-45 loss to Kennesaw State.
New Mexico State cornerback Zedekiah Rodriguez-Brown recorded two tackles and two pass deflections in a 24-17 loss to Missouri State. UC Davis sophomore running back Carter Vargas rushed for 90 yards on 16 carries in a 27-26 win over Northern Colorado. UC Davis improved to 6-1.
Sophomore quarterback Caleb Sanchez completed 10 of 25 passes for 105 yards with one interception in a 49-3 loss to Dartmouth. Esteban Nunez-Perez made two PATs for Princeton in a 35-14 loss against Harvard. Yale sophomore tight end Jaxton Santiago had five catches for 59 yards and a touchdown to help the Bulldogs beat Penn 35-13.
Xavier Andrade
Xavier Andrade, who played football at Luther College, graduated with degrees in Communications and Political Science. He previously worked in editorial and social media for Hola Cultura, a Latino publication in Washington, D.C. Andrade currently coaches football at Hillsdale High School in San Mateo, Calif.
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