Rece Davis admits he regrets voting for Diego Pavia after Vanderbilt QB's post-ceremony behavior

After a long, winding, and extremely tight Heisman Trophy race this season, Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza was named the winner of the prestigious award last Saturday night. Mendoza earned the honor over Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin, Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia, and Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love.

Pavia however was the one making the most waves after the Heisman ceremony, as he posted “F- all the voters” on his Instagram story and was seen at a post-ceremony party with a sign that read, “F*** Indiana” written. Pavia later issued a lengthy apology.

Due to this behavior, ESPN’s Rece Davis revealed on the latest edition of the ‘College GameDay Podcast‘ that he regrets voting for the polarizing Vanderbilt quarterback.

“Heisman gets a lot of talk, and I don’t want to wrap this up by piling on Diego Pavia because he apologized for his post-Heisman behavior and understandably so,” Davis said. “I didn’t feel like he owed the voters an apology. He can say whatever he wants to them. As a voter, I saw some people who took umbrage with that but I did not. He could say what he wants.”

“But the one thing that his behavior, even with the apology included and accepted, did for me was that it made me regret my Heisman vote. I voted for Diego Pavia because I know what the history of Vanderbilt is. I thought he was the most dynamic player. I’m predisposed in Heisman voting to vote for guys who create ‘wow’ moments.”

Rece Davis reveals he’s glad Diego Pavia didn’t win the Heisman

In his second season as Vanderbilt‘s starting quarterback, Pavia broke the single-season school record for passing yards (3,192). He also passed for 27 touchdowns with just eight interceptions, along with rushing for 826 yards and nine more scores. He led the Commodores to their first ever 10-win season this year, and could even turn that into 11 wins with a win over Iowa in the ReliaQuest Bowl.

“I voted for Reggie Bush twice,” Davis continued. “Matt Leinart was a great player and a deserving winner, but I voted for Reggie Bush both times. I’m inclined to vote for guys who have the ‘Desmond Howard moment’. The ‘Johnny Manziel moment’, I guess to draw a parallel to Diego.”

“I’ve voted for the Heisman for 20-something years. I’ve only regretted my vote two times: one time it was because of on the field and I was unfair in my judgment toward a person. In my effort to be fair, I ended up being unfair to the person I should have voted for. This one was different. I regretted the vote because after Pavia’s behavior in the aftermath, I was like ‘man, I’m glad he didn’t win.’ I’m glad he didn’t win. That’s not the way you should feel about a player as great as Pavia is on the field.”

Coming off his Heisman Trophy loss, Pavia will suit up for Vanderbilt one more time in the Commodores’ ReliaQuest Bowl clash with Iowa. That game will take place on Dec. 31 at 12:00 PM ET on ESPN.