Vanderbilt’s Diego Pavia Still Confident In Himself After NFL Combine

Diego Pavia was throwing for scouts on Saturday at the NFL combine, and he remains confident in himself and his abilities, hoping to hear his name called at the NFL Draft.

The polarizing quarterback prospect isn’t shy to voice his opinion or back down from criticism. During Pavia’s time at Vanderbilt, he faced nonstop criticism from fans and the media.

“One thing about me is I don’t care what people think about me,” Pavia said.

Pavia was very successful in college, and, more specifically, when he decided to transfer to Vanderbilt. The QB went on to lead the Commodores to a 17-9 record, two bowl games, and a school record of 10 wins in 2025. Pavia also set school records for single-season passing yards, total offense, and rushing yards by a quarterback. Pavia was the Heisman runner-up and was an All-American.

Pavia described the media’s criticism of him as “clickbait.”

The criticism started to get louder for Pavia when Fernando Mendoza was named the Heisman, and Pavia posted a message on social media saying “F-ALL THE VOTERS,” following the result. Pavia would later apologize for his message.

Pavia, 24, credits his demeanor and approach to football as to why he is a good leader. His confidence comes from being counted out constantly, specifically when he started his career in junior college.

“I feel like a lot of teams love the tenacity, the fight,” Pavia added. “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.”

Pavia hopes his performance at the combine will lead to hearing his name called at the NFL Draft, but scouts have been concerned about his height, as he comes in at 5-foot-10, which is not ideal, especially for a quarterback. However, silencing the critics and overcoming the odds is not new for Pavia.

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Article by Sam Lanier