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Vanderbilt makes major Diego Pavia decision after LSU win

Joe Cox|
After an impressive 6-1 start and with a top ten ranking, Vanderbilt has unleashed a significant Diego Pavia decision.
After an impressive 6-1 start and with a top ten ranking, Vanderbilt has unleashed a significant Diego Pavia decision. | Nicole Hester/ The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Vanderbilt Commodores

The specter of Vanderbilt being the home of College GameDay and a potential entrant in the College Football Playoff has forced some big moves in Nashville. Vanderbilt University has now officially engaged in campaign season-- the Heisman Trophy campaign for Diego Pavia. The University has officially gone all-in on Pavia's newly-announced Heisman Trophy campaign.

The Commodores have unveiled a social media campaign and an accompanying website, making the case for Pavia's Heisman hopes. With Vanderbilt sitting at No. 10 in the latest AP poll and playing in another pivotal SEC game, the time was right for campaign fever.

Vandy's Campaign

After Vanderbilt's impressive start and shocking resurgance under Pavia in 2024, the possibility of a Heisman campaign for the Vandy QB has been a topic of discussion. But Vandy has taken the bull by the horns with a website dedicated to the campaign and its affiliated social media tag #2turnt.

That website includes everything from statistical support for Pavia's campaign to a Vandy-produced video documenting Pavia's ride to prior social media posts and videos, including a mic'd up video used by College GameDay earlier in 2025. The site even includes a link to Pavia merchandise from Vanderbilt's NIL store.

Vandy's Heisman History

Not only has Vanderbilt never had a Heisman Trophy winner, it's fair to say that the Commodores have never had a viable Heisman candidate. Most of the best years of Vanderbilt football predate the 1935 beginning of awarding the Heisman Trophy annually. In fact, only three times since 1935 has Vanderbilt ended the season ranked in the AP poll's top 25.

Pavia's Resurrection Story

But Pavia has brought a new era to Vanderbilt football, and done so with his own unusual story. Pavia started his college career at the New Mexico Military Institute, where in two seasons, he played well enough to get the notice of perennial FBS cellar-dwellar New Mexico State. NMSU had one winning season between 2003 and 2021.

But Pavia arrived in 2022 along with former Minnesota coach Jerry Kill and promptly took the Aggies to consecutive winning seasons and a pair of bowl games. He played well enough there that Pavia and his offensive coordinator, Tim Beck, headed for Vanderbilt.

Pavia led Vandy to seven wins in 2024, including a shocking upset of Alabama. Pavia passed for 2,293 yards and 20 touchdowns against just four interceptions, while also rushing for 801 yards and eight scores.

He's been even better in 2025, passing for 1,569 yards and 15 scores on the season to date, with 438 yards and four touchdowns on the ground. Pavia threw for one score and ran for two more in a win over LSU to move Vandy to 6-1, No. 10 in the current AP poll, and the destination for College GameDay, only the second time the show has visited Vanderbilt.

In his brief Vanderbilt career, Pavia seems to shatter one glass ceiling after another. The Heisman campaign is a bold attempt at one more milestone shift.

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Joe Cox
JOE COX

Joe is a journalist and writer who covers college and professional sports. He has written or co-written over a dozen sports books, including several regional best sellers. His last book, A Fine Team Man, is about Jackie Robinson and the lives he changed. Joe has been a guest on MLB Network, the Paul Finebaum show and numerous other television and radio shows. He has been inside MLB dugouts, covered bowl games and conference tournaments with Saturday Down South and still loves telling the stories of sports past and present.

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