Diego Pavia's Extra Year of Eligibility Means Vanderbilt Is Set Up for Success
There was a lot of uncertainty for Vanderbilt as they prepare for their Birmingham Bowl showdown against Georgia Tech.
While they knew Diego Pavia would be suiting up for the final game of this season, they weren't sure if he would be back in 2025 since the NCAA said he was out of eligibility which prompted a lawsuit brought on the by the quarterback.
His view was his junior college years shouldn't count towards his eligibility at this level, stating that the NCAA was violating antitrust laws by preventing him from capitalizing on NIL opportunities.
The court ruled in his favor, granting him a preliminary injunction that gives him a final season of eligibility with the Commodores.
That's huge for Vanderbilt.
While they have been successful thus far in the transfer portal, adding players at key positions of need, Clark Lea and his staff weren't going after quarterbacks, something that could have been disastrous if the ruling went against Pavia.
The uncertainty about if he would be back next year or not was creating issues when it came to landing offensive playmakers, and it should come as no surprise that following the news that Pavia would be back in 2025, the Commodores picked up a commitment from talented wide receiver Chance Fitzgerald.
Who Vanderbilt now can add before the portal closes on Dec. 28 will be seen, but there is no doubt that this is the best-case scenario for the Commodores since this sets themselves up for success next season.
One of the reasons why they have failed to produce quality results consistently under Lea - having gone 9-27 overall and 2-22 in conference play before this year - was because they didn't have a difference maker at the most important position in sports.
Every time they took the field, Vanderbilt was at a disadvantage.
That wasn't the case this season.
While there were questions if Pavia's style would translate from Conference USA to the SEC, his 2,133 yards through the air and 716 on the ground with 23 total touchdowns compared to four interceptions was more than enough for the Commodores to compete, it allowed them to reach bowl eligibility for the first time in Lea's tenure while winning more SEC games than the previous three years combined.
Having him suit up next season gives Vanderbilt the chance of putting together back-to-back successful campaigns, especially with a favorable schedule that could yield consecutive bowl appearances for the first time since the James Franklin era over a decade ago.
Of course, the Commodores have to perform.
Just because Pavia is back doesn't guarantee they will achieve the same things they did in 2024, but it certainly helps.
The arrow is pointing up on the trajectory of Vanderbilt, and this ruling is a huge reason why.
