Another Heisman Trophy race is in the books with Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza being named the winner of the prestigious award last Saturday night. The Hoosiers passer beat out Ohio State QB Julian Sayin, Vanderbilt QB Diego Pavia, and Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love.
Pavia, who went home with a runner-up finish, made waves after the Heisman ceremony. 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” on it. Needless to say, he was still emotional. Pavia later issued an apology. But for some, the damage was irreversible.
Rece Davis revealed on the latest edition of the ESPN ‘College GameDay Podcast‘ that he regrets voting for the 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.”
Words aren't what got many people to think differently about Pavia. His actions played a big part.
“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."
Pavia broke the single-season record with 3, 192 passing yards with 36 total touchdowns. He led the Commodores to their first ever 10-win season this year.
“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."
Pavia will suit up for the final time at Vanderbilt in ReliaQuest Bowl clash with Iowa. The New Year’s Eve matchup will be at Noon ET on ESPN.
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