How Diego Pavia is Carrying ‘Life of an Underdog’ Mentality Into 2026 NFL Combine

INDIANAPOLIS — It’s no secret that Diego Pavia carried a chip on his shoulder, along with an underdog mentality, throughout his senior campaign with Vanderbilt. That same mentality is sticking with him through the NFL Draft process and at the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine.

That’s the one thing he wants NFL teams to know, as well. Nothing is changing during his transition from college to the pros.

“I feel like a lot of teams love the tenacity, the fight,” Pavia told the media on Friday. “The life of an underdog, that's for sure.”

Pavia also wants teams to know that he’s humble, despite showing off a supreme level of confidence and swagger in the way he presents himself. It’s also hard to doubt that he’s not putting work in behind the scenes, given his improvements at Vanderbilt.

He did this all while making a jump to the SEC from New Mexico State. After a season with the Commodores, where he proved he can compete and make plays against some of the best defenses in the country, it felt like his confidence increased.

“What's true about me is I'm humble, and I get my confidence from my process,” Pavia said. “If you saw how much I put into this, you would see where I get my confidence from.”

He also wants teams to know how much he cares about those around him. Those within the Vanderbilt locker room have long been positively outspoken in his favor, despite what some might say.

The confidence that Pavia carries and the work ethic that fuels it are both things he’ll carry with him to the NFL, as well.

“I'm the ultimate teammate. I'll do anything for my team,” Pavia said. “The guys who've been around me know that, so I'll just carry that with me.”

Pavia certainly isn’t the only player ever to dream about making it to the NFL. Obviously, that thought crosses the minds of many people. But, given the journey he’s been on, starting at the JUCO level with New Mexico Military Institute and then to New Mexico State with his final stop at Vanderbilt, he’s seen it all.

At all of those stops, Pavia has found ways to produce and impact winning. That’s one thing that is in his favor on his resume and tape for scouts to diagnose.

“They're gonna get a competitor if they get me,” Pavia said. “I'm a man on a mission. I've dreamed about this since I was a kid, so (I'm) super excited for this opportunity and super grateful for it, too.”

That’s not to say that he thinks he was perfect in college. Pavia is aware of the stories and social media rumblings regarding his personality and off-the-field character, which is when he’d fall on head coach Clark Lea.

Lea was a figure who was always there for Pavia during his time in Nashville, regardless of what was going on off the field. He wasn't afraid to be blunt with Pavia, either.

“He's just always been in my corner, you know, right or wrong,” Pavia said. “Obviously, I wasn't a perfect child, a perfect college athlete and he was just there to tell me when I was wrong and when I was right, and he was there to humble me and tell me to get back in my process.”

Pavia also had his assistant coaches and, most importantly, his teammates, to fall back on. His relationship with tight end Eli Stowers, who’s also at the 2026 NFL Combine, is well-documented. That was a guy who helped Pavia out tremendously in the same ways that Lea did.

“When I was crossing the line sometimes at practice, it was like, hey, you got to calm down a little bit,” Pavia said. “So that's what I took with a grain of salt, because they obviously want what's best for me, they have the best in mind for me.”

Stowers is set to test at the combine on Friday, with Pavia hitting the field at Lucas Oil Stadium on Saturday. His one-on-one meetings with teams, however, are arguably the most important thing he’ll go through all week in Indianapolis.

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