Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia had a stellar first season with the Commodores. Although the team did not qualify for the college football playoff, they pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the season. Partially due to the outstanding play of Pavia, the Commodores upset the Alabama Crimson Tide in early October.
Pavia has showcased his incredible commitment to staying in shape throughout his football career. On Wednesday, a clip from the “Bussin’ with the Boys” podcast was posted on X. In the clip, Pavia spoke about using his ex-girlfriend as motivation to stay in shape and succeed.
“Honest truth, my ex-girlfriend. It was like, sh*t she don’t want me? Bet, I’m gonna go harder and it was just like. I’m super serious like in Juco and to this day. Once I get under that bar it was beef. Sh*t, she don’t want you, take that personal, that’s one of the reasons I go so hard too.”
Nothing like an ex-girlfriend to keep you motivated pic.twitter.com/fKpdS6lZj9
— Bussin’ With The Boys (@BussinWTB) June 18, 2025
Regardless of what he is using as motivation, it appears to be working out for Diego Pavia. In his first season at Vanderbilt, after two seasons at New Mexico State, Pavia completed 177 of 298 passing attempts for 2293 yards and 20 TDs. One of his best games of the season came in the Commodores’ upset win over Alabama where he completed 16 of 20 passing attempts for 252 yards and two TDs.
Diego Pavia speaks about turning down Big Ten teams because he wanted to go to the SEC
Also in his interview with “Bussin’ with the Boys,” Diego Pavia spoke about his decision to go to Vanderbilt. He spoke about wanting to play in the SEC rather than the Big Ten because he wants to play with the best.
“You want to play with the best. You don’t want to play with the Big Ten. You ignore those calls,” Pavia said. “The Big Ten, you have Ohio State, Oregon… The SEC, week after week, you’re going to get beat on. The Big Ten, you’re not gonna get beat on with the Purdues, Nebraskas.”
While it is a bold statement to make for a QB who only has one season of play in one of the strongest conferences in college football, he has backed it up. He looked poised against top competition last year and looks like he could help the Commodores rise up the SEC standings in 2025. According to Pro Football Focus, Pavia is the No. 160-ranked player heading into the 2026 NFL draft.
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