Vanderbilt Commodores Head Coach Shares Thoughts on Diego Pavia's Return
After finding out that quarterback Diego Pavia would be coming back for another season, Vanderbilt Commodores head coach Clark Lea was so excited that he gave his star player a kiss on the side of the head.
Pavia recently came out on top in a lawsuit against the NCAA that granted him one more year for the Commodores.
Obviously, the vibes around the program are through the roof. In a press conference ahead of the Birmingham Bowl, Lea gave his very happy thoughts about Pavia returning.
"I'm happy for him. I'm happy for our sport, too. I think college football is better with guys like Diego playing as long as they can possibly play," said Lea.
Pavia has clearly made a local impact with the program reaching new heights in terms of popularity, but he has also changed the precedent for all of collegiate sports.
"I think he has been inspirational to so many people at Vanderbilt, so many people in the Nashville community. But, I also think he has been inspirational to a lot of people across the country, and it's a testament to the platform that the Commodores and Nashville provide our student-athletes. When you have someone special like Diego as a part of your program, you want to hang on to him again as long as you can," the coach continued.
The former New Mexico State Aggies standout staying in college for one more season is a huge deal for everyone involved.
Pavia was a second-team All SEC quarterback this past season and was also awarded the SEC Newcomer of the Year award.
He was one of the main reasons that Vanderbilt was able to pick up a program-defining win over the Alabama Crimson Tide and stay competitive in many others.
The senior completed 59.2% of his passes for 2,133 yards with 17 touchdowns to just four interceptions in 2024. He also continued to hurt defenses on the ground with 716 yards and six more scores.
It is not hard to understand why Lea is so excited that he is coming back. Getting top-end quarterback talent to come to the Commodores hasn't exactly been easy, putting off the search for another year is a blessing.
Pavia already lead Vanderbilt to their first bowl game since 2018 and first AP Top 25 ranking since 2013. Perhaps he can continue to build upon his impressive first year in the SEC with an even better season next time around.
Dylan Sanders graduated from Louisiana State University with a degree from the Manship School of Mass Communication in 2023. He was born in raised in Baton Rouge, LA but has also lived in Buffalo, NY. Though he is a recent graduate, he has been writing about sports since he was in high school, covering different sports from baseball to football. While in college, he wrote for the school paper The Reveille and for 247Sports. He was able cover championships in football, baseball and women's basketball during his time at LSU. He has also spent a few years covering the NFL draft and every day activities of the New Orleans Saints. He is a Senior Writer at Inside the Marlins and will also be found across Sports Illustrated's baseball sites as a contributing writer. You can follow him on Twitter or Instagram @dillysanders