Shane Beamer shares respect for Diego Pavia, competitive spirit

Shane Beamer isn’t downplaying his competition. Ahead of South Carolina‘s showdown against Vanderbilt this weekend, the Gamecocks’ head coach had nothing but compliments for Commodores quarterback Diego Pavia.

“He’s a stud,” Beamer said. “I’ve got so much respect for him. I got a chance to visit with him a little bit in Atlanta at SEC Media Days because we were there at the same time, and enjoyed visiting with him and watching him play.

“He’s such a competitor… He loves the moment. He loves competing. He’s got a play against Virginia Tech, where he’s sitting in the pocket on third down and delivering a throw down the field. He’s got a play against Virginia Tech where he’s got 1-on-1 coverage on the outside, and he throws it up and he hits the receiver in stride on a deep ball for a touchdown… He’s fun to watch, and I’ve got a ton of respect for him.”

Pavia burst onto the scene last season after transferring to Vanderbilt from New Mexico State. He led the Commodores to new heights, propelling the team to wins over Alabama and Auburn.

Thus far, he hasn’t missed a beat this season. In Vanderbilt’s impressive 44-20 win over Virginia Tech on Saturday, Pavia completed 12-of-his-18 pass attempts for 193 yards and two touchdowns, compared to one interception.

Pavia’s arm wasn’t his only threat. He also notched 61 rushing yards on 11 carries. Shane Beamer knows it’ll take a team effort to lock down Pavia.

“It’s going to take all 11 on defense to control him on Saturday night, all of us flying to the ball. It starts up front, but we’ve got to do a great job on the perimeter, without a doubt,” Beamer said. “We’ve got to stay on the field. Virginia Tech had six plays in the third quarter the other night. Six. They went three and out, three and out, and then they didn’t see the ball again until the fourth quarter.

“That’s how they want to play football. So, in order to control Pavia, we’ve got to do our part on offense too, to make sure that we’re staying on the field and sustaining drives.”

Vanderbilt will be playing with a chip on its shoulder. The Gamecocks dominated the Commodores en route to a 28-7 victory last season. Pavia certainly hasn’t forgotten about the loss.

South Carolina and Vanderbilt will square off at 7:45 p.m. ET on Saturday. The game will air live on the SEC Network.