Vanderbilt's Diego Pavia is AllSportsPeople College Football 2025 Player of the Year

Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia crossed the line after the Heisman Trophy ceremony on Dec. 13. 

The Commodores quarterback finished second to Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza. Pavia's response was a one-letter shot at Heisman voters on Instagram. He was spotted later that evening partying with a sign that had a four-letter dig at Indiana. Pavia offered a lengthy apology on X the following day. When asked about what lessons could be learned from that widely-criticized behavior last weekend, Pavia declined to elaborate, at least for now. 

"I'm not going to get into that," Pavia told AllSportsPeople on Wednesday.  

Pavia's tone isn't rude or defensive. It is more a matter-of-fact response. Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea knows more specifics after talking to Pavia this week. Lea and Pavia have a close relationship – one that has helped turn Vanderbilt into a player in the new college football world. Lea gives a detailed, thoughtful view of the events which have dominated the college football news cycle this week. 

"I think the boundaries between what's judged and what's accepted anymore are a little more blurred," Lea told SN. "What I'm trying to say is I think his intent was less to be — honestly disrespectful — and more just to kind of emphasize this idea that he's been doubted his entire life and the people closest to him are the most important to him." 

MORE: Indiana's Curt Cignetti is SN's Coach of the Year, again

In other words, Pavia sent the wrong message on social media off the field, and that made it easy to disregard the line-stepping that makes him a dynamic quarterback on the field. That is the juxtaposition. Pavia was the most valuable player for his team in the 2025 college football season. He ranked second in the FBS with 334.8 total yards per game. He led the Commodores to a school-record 10 victories, which nearly propelled the school to the College Football Playoff. 

"It was a mistake, and he owned that and immediately when I talked to him recognized the fact he made a mistake," Lea said. "Yet the people who know him best recognize what a big heart and how good of a person he is. Sometimes he kicks that hornet's nest a little bit and he shouldn't. He needs to learn how to keep some of those things inside of him."

Pavia helped Vanderbilt cross a line, too, and that was not a welcome change for the establishment. The Commodores are not supposed to be an SEC contender, much less a playoff contender. Pavia helped change that, and that part of the story is why he is the 2025 AllSportsPeople College Football Player of the Year. He is the first Vanderbilt player to win the award for our publication. 

"That story is an all-timer, and I think the world needs to understand and appreciate exactly what this guy has accomplished," Lea said. "It all starts with a belief in self. There is way less about proving doubters wrong, and way more in this unyielding belief in what he's capable of." 

Yet what Pavia learns from the Heisman Trophy ceremony will shape how we look at this story in the future. 

MORE: AllSportsPeople 2025 College Football All-America team

Diego Pavia: 2025 AllSportsPeople Player of the Year

Pavia's journey from Volcano Vista (Albuquerque, N.M.) High School to Vanderbilt is one of persistence. He had no FBS offers. No FCS offers.He played two seasons at New Mexico Military Institute from 2020-21 before a two-year stretch at New Mexico State. It took time to win the starting job, too. 

"There was a time at New Mexico State when I was in and out of the starting lineup which caused I wouldn't say doubt — but there was some confusion of, 'Why am I here? What's the reasoning of why I am going through this?'" Pavia told SN. "But other than that, I would never say I had doubts because I always believed in myself." 

He led New Mexico State to a 10-5 record and a berth in the Conference USA championship game in 2023. Pavia transferred to Vanderbilt in 2024. 

From there, Pavia embraced the underdog role at Vanderbilt with a supporting cast with similar journeys to Nashville befitting of their own country ballads. Tight end Eli Stowers was a backup quarterback at Texas A&M before emerging as an All-American tight end and Pavia's favorite target. Running back Makhilyn Young spent a year cleaning bathrooms in a Baptist Church in Midland, Texas. Richie Hoskins played Division III lacrosse in Middlebury, Vt., and Tre Richardson played Division II football for the Washburn Ichabods in Topeka, Kan. This is the plot for any feel-good football movie. 

Lea played fullback from Vanderbilt from 2002-04, a stretch where the Commodores won six games in three seasons. He was able to craft that hodge-podge of talent with Pavia as the centerpiece both on and off the field. As Pavia says, "I've never had a losing season of college football."

"Is there a better guy to be quarterback at Vanderbilt in this moment these last two years?" Lea asked rhetorically. "No. What we've needed is that level of belief and that level of leadership in our locker room." 

Pavia led Vanderbilt to a 5-0 start – which included a 31-7 victory at No. 11 South Carolina on Sept. 13. Then, the Commodores split four games against ranked teams – with losses to No. 10 Alabama and No. 20 Texas and victories against No. 10 LSU and No. 15 Missouri. Pavia had two red-zone turnovers in the loss to the Crimson Tide, but he learned from that with three fourth-quarter TD drives in a near-comeback against the Longhorns.

Vanderbilt closed the year with three straight victories – including a 45-24 blowout at No. 19 Tennessee on Nov. 29. Pavia threw two first-half interceptions at Neyland Stadium – but he finished with 268 passing yards, 165 rushing yards and two TDs. 

"How many people do you know after having that level of adversity early, they shrink themselves?" Lea asked. "They make themselves small and chase the emotions of the moment. All he does is step into belief. The numbers he put up in that game are through the roof." 

Vanderbilt averaged 39.4 points per game – which ranked eighth in the FBS. Pavia had five games with at least 400 total yards, including a 532-yard, six-TD masterpiece against Kentucky on Nov. 22. The Commodores were one of the hottest teams in the FBS at the end of the season, and they would have been a tough out in the College Football Playoff. How much does Pavia believe that? 

"A million percent," Pavia said. "That's why a lot of people don't want to see us. We were the hottest team at the end of the year, hands down. You look at the scoring, third downs and things like that. When we started opening it up and started going tempo and doing all the things that we did at the end, it was, 'No one could stop us.'" 

MORE: Bill Bender's expert bracket for College Football Playoff

How Diego Pavia's confidence has not changed 

Pavia leaned into the Johnny Manziel comparisons this season. "Johnny Football" – the 2012 Heisman Trophy winner – was on the sideline for the Alabama game, too. Pavia's self-confidence is sure to become a hot topic through the NFL Draft process. 

"I think some teams are going to love it and some teams are going to hate it," Pavia said. "I think teams who need someone to come in and shape up a team and go out and flip and start winning football games, I think they'll love it. Honestly, I don't think NFL teams will care, as long as you win. Winning solves everything. I learned that at a young age."

This will be the next test for Pavia. He picked up several more haters over the weekend, and yet his self-confidence has not diminished. Pavia is not afraid to say he was the best quarterback in college football this season, but he is appreciative of the honor of being a AllSportsPeople first-team All-American.

Recent SN Players of the Year

"The thing about all these other guys who were first-team All-Americans; it's insane to think about," Pavia said. "You're in the category of the elite. To be in that category is a blessing, but I want to be the best ever." 

Pavia will get a chance to answer some critics in the 2025 ReliaQuest Bowl against No. 23 Iowa on Dec. 31. The Hawkeyes ranked ninth in the FBS in scoring defense at 15.2 points per game. Pavia told SN he does not plan to opt out. 

"That's my plan right now is to play," Pavia said. "I'm getting mentally prepared to go play against them. … We'll see you in Tampa." 

MORE: SN's picks against the spread for all 35 bowl games

If anything, the reaction after the Heisman Trophy ceremony should increase the buildup for his final college game. Pavia stood out this season — more than any other player in college football. In that regard, he does maintain a keen sense of self-awareness – more so than he is given credit for.  As Lea puts it, a chance to learn, "What to keep inside, what to communicate with the world and how we go about communicating to the world the things inside of us so they are not misunderstood. 

"We talk about this team of misfits because we all have this feeling of being unwanted and needing to prove ourselves," Lea said. "He's the misfit of all misfits. For him to be out there and galvanize a group – what he has done is the players who are on the fence or unsure — he creates certainty with them and helps them elevate their game. That really is his greatest legacy here."