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Diego Pavia’s not backing down from anyone – and he’s making sure NFL scouts know it.
The Vanderbilt quarterback showed up at the NFL combine in Indianapolis with the same chip on his shoulder that carried him through a historic season with the Commodores. He’s set to throw for scouts on Saturday, and if you’re expecting a toned-down version of Pavia, you haven’t been paying attention.
“One thing about me is I don’t care what people think about me,” Pavia said. Fair enough when you’ve just led Vanderbilt to a 10-3 record – the first 10-win season in the program’s history.
He’s got his critics pegged too. According to Pavia, most of the noise around him comes from media outlets chasing “clickbait.” Whether that’s fair or not, there’s no question he became one of college football’s most talked-about players this past season.
Some of that’s on him.
After finishing second in the Heisman Trophy voting, Pavia posted “F-All THE VOTERS” on social media – a move that required a public apology. Combined with his on-field energy and swagger, it’s made him a guy people either love or can’t stand.
But Pavia’s convinced that same edge is exactly what made him effective at Vanderbilt. His confidence, he explained, comes from being overlooked his entire football life. He started at junior college, worked his way up, and proved doubters wrong at every stop.
“I feel like a lot of teams love the tenacity, the fight,” he said. “The life of an underdog, that’s for sure. And, so, they ask questions. But you go back, you look at my record, ain’t nothing on my record.”
He’s not wrong about his performance – the results speak for themselves. Still, NFL teams are going to have concerns beyond his personality. The biggest? Pavia measures under 5-foot-10, which is a significant obstacle for quarterbacks trying to make it at the next level.
Height’s been an issue for plenty of QB prospects before him, and Pavia knows the questions are coming. His response is simple: watch the film.
“It’s not like we’re not playing these guys that are going first-round, second-round [picks] on Saturdays in the SEC,” Pavia said. “So, the SEC and the Big Ten probably have the most guys getting drafted in the first, second round. So, we’re playing those guys and ain’t nothing going to change.”
He added that his confidence isn’t arrogance – it’s earned through the work he’s put in behind the scenes.
“I just want everyone to know what’s true about me is I’m humble and I get my confidence from my process,” Pavia said. “And if you saw how much I put into this, you would see where I get my confidence.”
Whether NFL teams buy into that remains to be seen. But one thing’s certain: Diego Pavia’s not changing who he is for anyone.
