Ruling on Vanderbilt Star Diego Pavia's Eligibility Could Come This Week
Vanderbilt knows they'll have Diego Pavia suited up for the Birmingham Bowl showdown against Georgia Tech on Dec. 27 in what is an important game for this program, but beyond that, his availability remains a mystery.
The Commodores would love to have the star quarterback return for the 2025 season.
The only issue is, in the eye's of the NCAA, he's run out of eligibility.
This stems from Pavia's time in junior college before he transferred to New Mexico State for two years and came to Nashville ahead of this past campaign. Those seasons at the JUCO level are currently being counted against Pavia, something that has prompted him to sue the NCAA.
If U.S. District Judge William L. Campbell rules in his favor, then Vanderbilt will have their star quarterback for 2025, but if he rules against their signal caller, the Commodores will have to find a new player to man that position.
As if a court case wasn't complicated enough, Pavia remains eligible to play while this injunction is still being looked at by the court.
Theoretically, until there is a verdict handed out, Pavia would be eligible to play in 2025.
But, if the ruling doesn't go his way and he's deemed to be ineligible while the season is taking place, then he would no longer be able to suit up for Vanderbilt and his college career would be over.
Thankfully, there could be some clarity on this coming soon.
According to Robbie Weinstein of 247Sports, Pavia is "hopeful to receive word late this week."
The quarterback also stated, "That's what I'd guess. But I'm not 100% sure."
Clark Lea is confident the ruling will go Pavia's way.
"We feel positively right now about where that's headed, and that's just the feedback we're getting. I don't want to claim to know something that everyone else doesn't know, or speculate. It's just that's the feedback we're getting: He has a good case, and obviously we're anxiously awaiting the final word there," he said per Weinstein.
This will be something to keep a close eye on.
Hopefully, the ruling does come later this week so Pavia can know if he has another year of college football left, or if his career is over after he plays in the Birmingham Bowl.
