A pair of overtime games bodes well for the rise of blood pressure for those watching Tennessee football.

And the Vols’ next game provides another challenge of sorts, one that they haven’t faced in a decade: an interim head coach with a new staff. But offensive coordinator Joey Halzle says his quarterback, Joey Aguilar, is unfazed by the tension

“His blood pressure doesn’t rise,” Halzle said. “So he’s a guy that’s not going to panic about it. He’s not going to stress about it.”

Aguilar’s postgame demeanor suggests that Halzle’s descriptors are accurate. He often mentions after games remaining even-keeled and not letting the highs or lows get to him.

The journeyman quarterback has seen his fair share around the college football scene now in his sixth season. On the SEC stage, facing an overhauled staff, in a game that Tennessee fell into a trap with last season off a bye week — Aguilar’s approach will be an important factor.

“He’s going to work all week,” Halzle said. “He worked all last week to make sure he gets himself as prepared as possible. But when the inevitable happens and he has to make that change, it’s not going to spike his blood pressure. So I don’t see it being a huge issue for him.”

Chris Wilson is the guy that Aguilar, Halzle and company will spend the week dissecting. After Sam Pittman was relieved of his duties following a blowout loss on home turf, reputable coach Bobby Petrino earned the promotion to interim head coach.

Petrino’s first move was in the defensive room, cutting ties with co-defensive coordinators Travis Williams and Marcus Woodson. That left a spot open for Wilson, who has spent time with Halzle and Josh Heupel at Oklahoma.

“Really good coach,” Halzle said. “Was the defensive line coach when I was there. High-energy guy, a guy that’ll definitely get his guys ready to play, understands the fits, understands how the whole thing hangs together. So he’s a high-level coach. He’s done it at the highest level in the NFL, so nothing but respect for coach Wilson.”

Wilson’s background is diverse, where he recently came from the professional ranks — but not the NFL. He, instead, was the defensive coordinator of the UFL’s Houston Roughnecks.

That adds an intricate layer to film study.

“You’re just trying to find out like, alright, what does he tick with? How does he play it? How does he like to call these situations?” Halzle said. “It’s less about the exact plays that he’s calling and more about why is he doing this? You’re just trying to figure out the guy because you don’t have five, six weeks of tape like you do on most guys by this point of the year. So you got to watch everything. You got to make yourself try to understand why he’s doing what he’s doing.”

For Aguilar, it will be another game to put his aggressive play style on display. He ranks second in the conference in passing yards and passing touchdowns with 1,459 yards and 13 touchdowns. He’s guiding the nation’s second-ranked scoring offense to 45.8 points per game, commanding the Vols to 492.5 yards of total offense per outing.

The Hogs have been allowing 279.8 yards per game in the air, ranking 120th out of 136 FBS teams, and 474.5 total yards per game to rank 127th in the country. Wilson is up for a tough task with a unit that has largely underperformed, but it gives Aguilar the opportunity to play to his airmailing strengths.

“For us, our motto in the quarterback room is we’re going to play extremely aggressive, but we’re not going to be reckless,” Halzle said. “And that’s been since day one, since I walked in this building from the first quarterbacks that were here. We have to be aggressive. You can’t worry about making mistakes. You’ve got to go cut it loose.

“But that doesn’t mean we just throw the ball up. So it’s walking the line of extremely aggressive but not reckless with the football. You’re reckless, you’re putting the team in a disadvantage. You’re aggressive, you’re putting us in a big advantage. So we have to play that way.”

While Tennessee’s bye week adjustments may have been hindered by the firing of Pittman, Aguilar still spent the time adjusting his habits. He pointed out during a midweek media availability that he would like to work on his mechanics to limit the ball placement issues that have led to five interceptions this season.

Halzle said Aguilar spent the open week refocusing on it. Now, he’ll have the chance to show it at 4:15 p.m. ET when the Vols take the field at Neyland Stadium against the Razorbacks on Saturday, Oct. 11.

“He’s had a great couple of weeks of practice, so I’m excited to watch him take the field on Saturday,” Halzle said.