Clark Lea Stands With Diego Pavia Amid Post-Heisman Backlash

Clark Lea has consistently demonstrated that there isn’t much that he won’t have Diego Pavia’s back on. The Vanderbilt head coach publicly campaigned for Pavia to win the Heisman Trophy, he said after Pavia’s first game that he believed he always had a chance with the ball in the veteran quarterback’s hands and he encouraged him to keep his edge.

Lea knows that Pavia’s post-Heisman ceremony posts involving a picture on his Instagram story with the caption “F*** all the voters…but family for life” as well as a video that emerged of him with a middle finger up alongside a club sign that read “F*** Indiana”—the school of Heisman winner Fernando Mendoza, who Pavia came in second place to in the Heisman race–weren’t ones he should’ve made. He also knew that he’d have to answer for them.

The Vanderbilt coach answered with the intention of avoiding putting his star quarterback under the bus, though.

“I think we need to allow this to be a growth moment for him,” Lea said on Thursday. “He used words that sent the wrong message, that don't align with our program and don't align with who he is, and we make mistakes, and I'm certainly glad that I didn't have social media access when I was 23 because I'm sure I would have had to apologize for a number of things in my emotional state too. I think we need to give him a lot of grace.”

Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea shakes hands with fans as he hugs quarterback Diego Pavia (2) after the team’s win against Kentucky at FirstBank Stadium in Nashville, Tenn., Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025. | Mark Zaleski / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Pavia has come under national scrutiny in the days following his posts and has had to listen to the seemingly endless speculation that his draft stock and future would be altered by the decisions he made following the ceremony.

The Vanderbilt quarterback posted an apology following the ceremony saying that “to be so close to my dream and come up short was painful. I didn’t handle those emotions well at all and did not represent myself the way I wanted to. I have much love and respect for the Heisman voters and the selection process, and I apologize for being disrespectful. It was a mistake, and I am sorry.”

Pavia also said that he’s “been doubted my whole life. Every step of my journey I’ve had to break down doors and fight for myself, because I've learned that nothing would be handed to me. My family has always been in my corner, and my teammates, coaches and staff have my six. I love them — I am grateful for them.— and I wouldn’t want anything to distract from that. I look forward to competing in front of my family and with my team one more time in the ReliaQuest Bowl."

The Vanderbilt quarterback has had to deal with the fallout of his actions and the criticism that has come with them on a national scope, but he’s shifted focus to Vanderbilt’s bowl game against Iowa. Vanderbilt has, too, it seems.

“I regretted the fact that he put that out there and I appreciated his apology," Lea said. “What he understands completely is there are ripple effects and consequences to those things. But what we love about Diego is his passion, his belief, his competitive edge. We've celebrated that for two years here, and it went past the line coming out of that Heisman ceremony, and he apologized for it, and so we're going to allow him to move on from it."