What Vanderbilt’s Diego Pavia said about the NIL and how it changed college football
Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia spoke about the impact the NIL has had on college football.
On Saturday night, Diego Pavia made history by becoming the first Heisman Trophy finalist in Vanderbilt football program history.
He finished second to Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza, falling just short of college football’s most prestigious individual award, but he didn’t leave New York City without making a statement.
The Commodores’ star quarterback reposted a photo of himself with the offensive line at the Heisman ceremony on Instagram with the caption, “(expletive) – all the voters, but…for my family.”
What was expected to be a close race between Mendoza and Pavia turned out to be a little more lopsided than previously imagined. Mendoza took first place with 2,362 points and 643 first-place votes, followed by Pavia in second place with 1,435 points and 189 first-place votes.
So despite what he posted on social media, at least 189 voters likely escaped Pavia’s wrath.
In his second season at Vanderbilt, Pavia threw for 3,192 yards, 27 touchdowns, and eight interceptions, and had 826 rushing yards and nine touchdowns. Pavia ranks second among all FBS players with 334.8 total yards per game, behind South Florida’s Byram Brown.
While piling up the yards, he led the Commodores to a program-record 10 wins. He led Vanderbilt to a 17-9 record in two seasons. The Commodores had a combined record of 12-45 in the four seasons before Pavia transferred from New Mexico State.
Vanderbilt will complete its record-setting season on Dec. 31 when it faces Missouri in the Lilliaquest Bowl.
