Diego Pavia has revealed whom he depends upon for motivation. The Vanderbilt Commodores quarterback recently appeared on the ‘FanDuel’ podcast (via Bussin’ with the Boys’ X handle) and said his ex-girlfriend inspired him to work harder.
”Honest truth, my ex-girlfriend,” Pavia replied when asked who he leans on for motivation. “It was like ‘sh*t, she don’t want me? Bet. I’m gonna go harder.’”
Nothing like an ex-girlfriend to keep you motivated pic.twitter.com/fKpdS6lZj9
— Bussin’ With The Boys (@BussinWTB) June 18, 2025
Pavia said he took his break-up with his ex-girlfriend personally and that their beef has encouraged him to work harder than ever. Podcast host and former player Taylor Lewan responded to the Vanderbilt star’s mindset, saying:
“I feel like the mentality of the athlete is taking whatever happens in your life that didn’t necessarily go your way, big ways or little ways, but it’s like ‘alright, add that to the tank.’”
Diego Pavia throws shade at Big Ten
Apart from discussing his motivation on the ‘FanDuel’ podcast, Pavia made his feelings on the different football conferences clear. Kaleb Henry with Sports Illustrated highlighted the Vanderbilt QB’s comments.
Pavia was asked if any of the Big Ten schools had reached out to him for a transfer during the offseason. He replied (via Sports Illustrated):
“You want to play with the best; you don’t want to play with the Big Ten. You ignore those calls.”
Pavia further named Big Ten teams that he isn’t impressed by, and suggested that the SEC is the best conference.
“You got to think about this too, the SEC is like nothing [else],” Pavia said. “The Big Ten, you have Ohio State, Oregon, Michigan, Penn State … the SEC you have all dogs. You only have like four games a year [in the Big Ten]. The SEC, it’s like week after week you’re going to get beat on. The Big Ten, you ain’t going to get beat on with like the Purdue, Nebraskas.”
Pavia is coming off his first season at Vanderbilt after his stints at New Mexico Military (2020-21) and New Mexico State (2022-23). He recorded 2,293 yards with 20 touchdowns and four interceptions this season while leading the Commodores to a 7-6 record, a significant improvement from their 2-10 record the year before. The quarterback guided Vanderbilt to its first bowl game appearance since 2018 and first bowl win since 2013.
Pavia has made it clear that Big Ten teams approaching him will not make a difference, as he believes he’s playing in the best conference.
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