Vanderbilt QB Diego Pavia Not Finished Writing 'Underdog Story'

From being a junior college quarterback after a high school career where he earned no FBS offers, to now heading into a second year as the starting quarterback at Vanderbilt, Diego Pavia has quite a story.

It is that “underdog story” as his teammate Randon Fontenette described it, that makes Pavia such a good fit with the Commodores.

“He has an underdog story. … He’s been through a lot, he’s done a lot. I would definitely say he has an underdog story,” Fontenette said. “And I feel like Vanderbilt is always going to be the underdog. I feel that’s the program. I feel the program has thrived upon individuals that feel they aren’t getting the recognition they need, aren’t highly recruited.”

Pavia certainly thrived as a fifth-year senior, leading the Commodores to a 7-6 season, their first winning record since 2013. But he didn’t just lead a previously 2-10 team to a winning record a year later, but he proved instrumental in pulling the program’s first win over a top-ranked team in a victory over then No. 1-ranked Alabama.

That 40-35 win over the Crimson Tide would be just the first shock that Pavia pulled. The second came months later as he took the NCAA to court over the two years of eligibility he had lost in junior college at New Mexico Military. Pavia’s case saw him granted an injunction to gain one final year of eligibility as a sixth-year senior.

“It shocked everybody. We weren’t expecting him to get it,” Fontenette said. “But when he got it, it spread light throughout the locker room, like, OK, we’re going to make a run. We’ve got our quarterback back, we’ve got our guy, it’s time to go on the run.”

That one last ride and chance to build off the foundation that was set last season is another reason why Pavia did what he did to get another year of eligibility.

“We left a lot on the table this year going 7-6, and so obviously our goal is to win the National Championship,” Pavia said. “And so I’m super glad, super thankful, super blessed to be here for the last ride.”

It is that “last ride” and the underdog mentality that Pavia has infected his teammates with.

“Oh, yeah, Diego, he’s a different kind of player. His aura, his competitiveness, just his demeanor, how he carries himself, it really spreads light to the locker room, like, okay, this is our quarterback,” Fontenette said. “This is what he’s doing. We need to move accordingly. Just the way he carries himself, it really spreads through the whole locker room.”