Inside Diego Pavia’s Weekend in New York as Heisman Runner-Up
MANHATTAN — With his familiar ear-to-ear grin and a thin beard beginning to fill in beneath his chin, Diego Pavia arrived in New York Thursday night looking much like he always does: relaxed, comfortable, and unmistakably himself.
The 6’0 quarterback who has nearly singlehandedly revitalized Vanderbilt football stepped into a city that, despite his New Mexican roots, felt like he belonged in. Less than 48 hours later, Pavia would sit in the Lincoln Center's Appel Room, waiting to hear whether his name would be called as the 91st Heisman Trophy winner.
"Take me to New York"#2Turnt pic.twitter.com/9WXAAHBLsV
— #14 Vanderbilt Football (@VandyFootball) December 11, 2025
On Thursday, Pavia wasn’t just sporting his usual VUFB hoodie though — he was also wearing a beanie that read “VandyBoys,” an ode to the school’s iconic baseball team. It was a fitting beginning to No. 2’s Heisman Weekend, a reminder of how much he’s meant not just to head coach Clark Lea and the football program, but to the university as a whole.
“He’s put Vanderbilt on the map for all sports,” 2024-2025 Vanderbilt outfielder Jacob Humphrey, who was in New York for this weekend’s festivities, told Vandy OnSI. “He’s not afraid to go out there and talk his s***, but he’s going to back it up too. He’s brought a large following nationwide.”
Perhaps the term “program-changing” gets thrown around too often, but with Pavia, it feels fitting. The quarterback arrived on West End with offensive coordinator Tim Beck and tight end Eli Stowers after 2023, a season in which the Commodores went 2-10 and 0-8 in the SEC. At that time, Vanderbilt’s role in the conference had never been clearer: It was the doormat; a team that gave SEC opponents close to a second bye week when they came to Nashville.
But all of that changed in 2024 when the Albuquerque native led his team to a 7-6 season, highlighted by an upset win over No. 1 ranked Alabama that gave the fans inside FirstBank Stadium a reason to believe again. With a Birmingham Bowl win over Georgia Tech, Vanderbilt had hope reinvigorated into its football program for the first time in over a decade.
And, as it typically is in the landscape of college sports today, when a football team goes, its university goes with it. Naturally, the excitement on West End is unlike anything the school has experienced before. A large part of that momentum comes from athletics — as of Dec. 13, Vanderbilt is the only school in the country with AP top-15 teams in football, men’s basketball, and women’s basketball team, prompting discourse about whether it could become the next “everything school.” With football’s recent commitment from Jared Curtis, the nation's top quarterback recruit, that success shows no signs of slowing down.
The final piece of that black-and-gold themed puzzle — one that’s remained unsolved for over a century and a half — is football, and specifically, a quarterback. Pavia’s earned the right to represent not just the program, but the university as a whole, wearing his VandyBoys beanie with pride. Baseball coach Tim Corbin, who has become a key mentor for Pavia during his time in Nashville, would almost certainly tell you the same.
“We have dinner on Sunday nights, my whole family and [Corbin],” Pavia said. “He kind of brought me back to Earth. He was a true someone I could come to with anything. [He’d tell me that] everyone accepts me for who I am. I don’t need to change. I don’t need to be someone different.”
So, when Pavia extended Corbin an invite to attend Saturday’s ceremony, he accepted, arriving in New York to support the quarterback that he’s come to know so well. Humphrey, a close friend of Pavia's who first connected the duo, was also in attendance.
Pavia, however, didn’t have much time to linger around this weekend. After just four hours of sleep Thursday night, he was up early Friday morning for a mini media tour. The graduate signal caller’s magnetic personality made him a hot commodity in the Big Apple, with appearances on First Take with Stephen A. Smith, Good Morning America, and Morning Joe before even arriving at the Heisman festivities.
"People thought [I] was a fluke last year,” Pavia said on First Take. “That was one of my goals, to be the best player in the SEC, but obviously I want to win the Heisman."
When the finalist finally did arrive at the Marriott Marquis’ third-floor ballroom in downtown Manhattan, he did so in classic Diego Pavia fashion. While Fernando Mendoza and Julian Sayin both wore nice quarter zips and Jeremiyah Love sported a traditional Notre Dame button-down jacket, there was Pavia in his Vanderbilt zip-up hoodie, wired earbuds dangling from around his neck as if he were on his way to the McGugin Center for a mid-day lift — the exact place where Humphrey first met the charismatic athlete.
On the mic 🎙️#2Turnt pic.twitter.com/BPsP2ZKoyD
— #14 Vanderbilt Football (@VandyFootball) December 12, 2025
“We met in the training room of Mcgugin, and he was just one of the most confident people I’ve ever met,” Humphrey said. “We were hanging out [over the summer], and he was like ‘dude, I’m the best three-sport athlete. Do you think Corbin would let me try out for the team? I’ll be a DH; I’ll do whatever you want.’”
He wasn’t kidding, either. Humphrey said Pavia quickly backed up the bravado the same way he often does — with his play, launching a pair of home runs over the wall at Hawkins Field when he got the chance.
So, if you were expecting Pavia to adopt a polished, corporate version of himself this weekend, you haven’t followed the quarterback closely enough since he arrived from New Mexico State last season. Through every ebb and flow, Pavia has remained unapologetically himself — and that was never going to change on the biggest stage, in the biggest city in the world.
“What people don’t see with Diego is his encouragement, leadership and light heartedness,” offensive lineman Cade McConnell told Vandy OnSI. “They don’t see the drive. He started from nothing — truly a JUCO bandit and a misfit. Nobody knows what’s gone into his successes except the people that are with him doing it.”
Called up to receive his watch, Pavia walked from stage left to stage right, pausing along the way to snap a photo with his new piece of memorabilia. He then made his way to the back of the room, settling in a Vanderbilt-themed podium for a 30-minute media session. His message was unsurprising: an unwavering belief in himself, forged long before this moment on the big stage.
"I don't want it to come off as cocky or arrogant,” Pavia said. “I feel like sometimes I have to be my own cheerleader in a way. Because, obviously, as an underdog, paying to walk on in JUCO, you've kind of got to be own cheerleader. And it just never left my head."
While Sayin and Love drew modest clusters of media at their podiums, Pavia and Mendoza were quickly surrounded. Mendoza attracted attention as the favorite to win the award and quarterback for the No. 1 team in the country. Pavia, meanwhile, commanded the room for simpler reason — because he’s Pavia.
The Commodore captain handled the moment the same way he’s handled nearly every other second in the spotlight this season: smiling, cracking jokes, and repeatedly deflecting praise towards his teammates and coaches while simultaneously not shying away from his belief that he’s the best college football player on the planet. In a ballroom filled with cameras and lights, Pavia’s presence felt easygoing and unforced.
When Friday’s festivities concluded, Pavia’s attention quickly turned back to his family, who were slated to arrive in New York on Friday along with eight or nine of his teammates. First, though, he had another stop to make.
Pavia traveled to Baltimore on Friday night where he was scheduled to receive the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award Friday night. Joined by Lea, his mother and brothers, along with offensive coordinator Tim Beck and senior advisor Jerry Kill, Pavia accepted the trophy as a recognition of the season that brought him here and a prelude, he hoped, to what awaited back in Manhattan 24 hours later.
Congrats to @diegopavia02 for being this year’s recipient of the @GoldenArmAward, celebrated this evening in Baltimore 🏆 pic.twitter.com/5jQg2wCNV9
— #14 Vanderbilt Football (@VandyFootball) December 13, 2025
When he returned to New York late Friday night, the pace finally slowed — even just briefly. He was able to spend some time with the teammates who made the trip to Manhattan, including running back MK Young, a former New Mexico State teammate who followed Pavia to Vanderbilt this summer.
“Those moments [Friday] night, it was just us hanging out and Diego being himself,” Young told Vandy OnSI. “When we were at New Mexico State, he had all the Heisman pictures in his room — he still does to this day. To see it all come together is a testament to who he is.”
Despite nearly oversleeping Saturday, Pavia was back on stage for a final conference before the evening ceremony. This time, the quarterback’s outfit stood out in another way — with an ivory suit, two chains, and a pair of earrings with a black turtleneck underneath as opposed to a team-colored tie like the other three finalists. Seated second from the left between Sayin and Mendoza, Pavia showed no signs of grogginess or fatigue. He praised his fellow finalists for their individual accomplishments while continuing to reflect on the journey that’s brought him here. In just a few hours, he would take his seat in the front row, awaiting the weekend’s defining moment.
Not far from him in that theater would sit his starting offensive line, a group that helped manufacture Pavia’s magical 2025 season, allowing him to be sacked just 19 times — a number made even more impressive by Pavia’s tendency to hold onto the ball and improvise outside of the pocket.
“[The offensive line and me] are the tightest six-man group in the world,” Pavia said. “To have one last celebration in New York would mean a lot, and those guys deserve it. Whatever they need the rest of their life, I’m going to be there.”
And at approximately 7:50 central time, the announcement finally came. Fernando Mendoza was the 91st Heisman Trophy Winner. After hugging Jeremiyah Love, the Heisman winner and Pavia embraced, with the Vanderbilt signal caller presumably giving him a message of congratulations.
“He just has a good time,” Pavia said of the Indiana quarterback. “He’s actually hilarious.”
Despite not getting the news he wanted, Pavia made sure that the weekend wouldn’t be defined solely by one announcement or trophy. Instead, it was the culmination of a journey that began 23 years ago in a city 2,000 miles away, a journey that gave Vanderbilt players, fans, and students a renewed belief of what was possible on West End. That will take a very, very long time for anyone around the university to forget.
“At the end of the day,” Pavia said, “I did everything that I could do.”
Dylan Tovitz is a sophomore at Vanderbilt University, originally from Livingston, New Jersey. In addition to writing for Vanderbilt on SI, he serves as a deputy sports editor for the Vanderbilt Hustler and co-produces and hosts ‘Dores Unlocked, a weekly video show about Commodore sports. Outside the newsroom, he is a campus tour guide and an avid New York sports fan with a particular passion for baseball. He also enjoys listening to country and classic rock music and staying active through tennis and baseball.