Steve Spurrier makes Heisman Trophy case for Diego Pavia

The Heisman Trophy race is heating up with just two weeks left in the regular season. It’s a race that Steve Spurrier, being a former Heisman Trophy winner, is closely following. There, a few players stand out to him, including Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia.

Spurrier shared a few names on Another Dooley Noted Podcast. That included some of the biggest names from around the country, before he would eventually make the argument for Pavia to win the award.

“Fernando Mendoza seems to be the favorite,” Steve Spurrier said. “I heard Ricky Nueheisel and the guys talking about him today. Marcel Reed at A&M. I tell you, the Georgia quarterback, Gunner Stockton, has made some headway. The Ohio State player, Julian Sayin.”

In the most recent odds to come out in the Heisman race, Mendoza is the favorite at -115. However, Diego Pavia is coming in fourth in those odds at +2200. Those odds can change rapidly and weren’t what Spurrier was considering here. However, he certainly has noticed him and believes that with a strong finish, the Vanderbilt quarterback will be right there in that race.

“Pavia,” Spurrier said. “The next two weeks, if Vanderbilt goes 10-2, he is a very much in the running. Pavia.”

Getting Vanderbilt a 10-win season would be a remarkable feat in its own right. In fact, it’s never happened in the history of Vanderbilt football. Being the face of that team and its leader on offense is worth recognition of some sort. Of course, getting there won’t be easy with upcoming conference games against Kentucky and Tennessee. That Tennessee game, in particular, could prove to provide Pavia with some Heisman moments.

For the season, Pavia is completing 70 percent of his passes for 2,440 yards and 21 touchdowns to five interceptions. On the ground, he has 613 rushing yards and another seven touchdowns.

Urban Meyer opens up on conversation he had with DJ Durkin regarding Vanderbilt, Diego Pavia

Recently, another former coach, Urban Meyer, shared a conversation he had with DJ Durkin about Diego Pavia. In it, Durkin shared what has made him so special.

“DJ was my graduate assistant at Bowling Green,  also coached with me at Florida, one of my favorite [assistant] coaches. … He’s tremendous and I talked to him [Tuesday] night for a long time. And [when] I asked about Vanderbilt, [Durkin] said, ‘The personnel is good, there’s really good players there.’ It’s not exactly an NFL roster, but he made the point that that’s an SEC team, which Vanderbilt hasn’t had that. But the most important thing is, he said, ‘that damn quarterback [Pavia],’” Meyer said.

“And the term he used was ‘relentless.’ He said the guy is relentless, he’ll get first downs, get hit, we’ve seen that, he said [Pavia is] ‘tough as shit.’ Just his whole demeanor is the team of Vanderbilt right now. And to hear that, I kind of watch that, and I think their head coach [Clark Lea] is the same as that quarterback. I just think there’s an arrogance I’ve never seen at Vanderbilt.”