'Hell Yeah,' Diego Pavia Addresses Heisman Candidacy

NASHVILLE—Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia would admit that his Saturday performance–in which he went 10-for-19 for 129 passing yards and threw an interception–wasn’t his Heisman moment by any stretch. As he walks in to Vanderbilt’s postgame media room with a silver chain around his neck and his usual swagger he quickly made it clear that he didn’t believe he should be discounted from the race just because of that performance. 

Pavia likely knew the question was coming after it was on the tip of everyone in the room’s tongue a week ago, but never came out when other Vanderbilt players spoke in his place. When he finally got it, he jumped on it. 

“Do you believe you should win the Heisman?” Pavia was asked. 

“Hell yeah,” Pavia said, “I believe it.” 

The Vanderbilt quarterback’s numbers would indicate that the possibility is a long shot at this stage, but Pavia wants his name in the mix. The Vanderbilt quarterback is up to 1,698 passing yards with 15 touchdowns and five interceptions. He’s got 458 yards on the ground as well as five rushing touchdowns.

Pavia believes that his impact is bigger than his numbers would indicate at this stage. He believes his infectious confidence, decision making and flair are good enough to make up for some of the deficiencies he has relative to other quarterbacks on paper. It’s been that way all of Pavia’s life, he’s always had to make up for something with his personality. 

He’s always won, though. Now, his Vanderbilt team is 7-1 and is a legitimate College Football Playoff contender. He says it’s as a result of his defense that it got a win over Missouri on Saturday night, but he knows the value of his own skillset. So does his head coach. 

“I think he’s the best player in college football,” Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea said a week ago after Pavia’s best performance of the season in a 31-24 win over LSU. “You can’t watch him play and not realize what a game changer he is. There are a lot of good players, there’s only a handful to me that can take a game over and he’s one of those. He deserves all the attention.” 

Whether intentional or not, Pavia draws plenty of that as he walks through Vanderbilt’s campus on Saturday morning with a pink sheisty on and is the subject of a College Gameday feature story. Most signs on the set say something in regard to Pavia’s ability, confidence or his mother’s relationship with Theo Von. Vanderbilt has officially launched Pavia’s Heisman campaign #2Turnt, which was printed on hats that a significant amount of Vanderbilt players wore to the Star Walk on Saturday.

He wants to do this for those fans and those who have helped him get to this stage, particularly his offensive line. Pavia loves the spotlight, but he wants to keep the good times rolling with those in mind. 

“I’m having a lot of fun,” Pavia said. “I just feel like this team is so well connected.” 

Perhaps the fun doesn’t have to stop at FirstBank Stadium for this team. Perhaps it can roll all the way to the College Football Playoff and to New York in the following weeks. 

It’s would’ve been nearly inconceivable to think that a Vanderbilt player would be in that conversation a few seasons ago, but here Pavia is campaigning as a real member of the race. 

Vanderbilt is behind him, too. 

“Most definitely,” Vanderbilt defensive end Khordae Sydnor said when asked whether he believes Pavia should have a shot at the award. “He’s a dog. He’s the heartbeat of this team. We all listen to him, follow him and he loves us. We all just feed off him, we take his energy. He’s a great player, he’s a good dude. I think he deserves it all.”