Diego Pavia throws shade at Big Ten, In-state Rival

Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia is giving fans more offseason entertainment.

In a podcast episode of Bussin’ With The Boys, a podcast co-hosted by NFL players Taylor Lewan and Will Compton, Pavia went on the podcast to discuss NIL offers he had received to leave Vanderbilt. 

For Pavia, staying in the SEC was an easy decision, but the Vanderbilt quarterback also took a dig at the Big Ten while discussing his decision to stay in Nashville. 

“You want to play with the best. You don’t want to play with the Big Ten. You ignore those calls. You know that,” Pavia said.

But he did not stop there.

“You’ve got to think about this, too. The SEC is, like, nothing. Like, okay, the Big Ten, you have Ohio State and Oregon. The SEC, it’s like week after week. You’re going to get beat on. The Big Ten, you’re not gonna get beat on with the Purdues and Nebraskas,” Pavia said.

The SEC has been the one of, if not, the most dominant conference in college football for a long time, but with Ohio State winning last season's College Football Playoff National Championship on top of Oregon joining the Big Ten, the margin between the two most powerful conferences in the sport has certainly closed.

But that was not the only shade Pavia threw on the podcast episode. Pavia also called out Tennessee, Vanderbilt’s in-state rival.

“Vanderbilt’s going to run Tennessee after this year,” Pavia said. “This is gonna be the new staple of college football. It’s going to happen here. 

“Everyone wants to come to Tennessee because of Nashville,” Pavia continued. “So they want to come to Nashville... Vanderbilt. And then when we have like the most money in NIL, why not come here? We literally just have to win this year and it will take care of itself.

Pavia comments on the podcast certainly add an extra layer of motivation and entertainment to  November’s rivalry game against the Volunteers. Regardless of how Vanderbilt and Tennessee fans receive the quarterback’s comments, there is one thing Pavia has that is undeniable: confidence.

Pavia’s friendly fire to the Big Ten and Tennessee marks the second time that he has made headlines for offseason trash talk.

Two weeks ago, Pavia responded to Alabama wide receiver Ryan Williams’ “sledgehammer” comments with an Instagram story post where Pavia posted a screenshot picture of Williams, tagging the wide receiver in his post with the words “run it” over music lyrics from Gucci Mane.

: