For three consecutive seasons, Diego Pavia made life miserable for the Auburn Tigers, handing Hugh Freeze defeats as the starting quarterback for New Mexico State in 2023 and Vanderbilt in 2024, then dealing DJ Durkin his first loss as Auburn’s interim head coach in a 45–38 overtime thriller in Nashville last November. But now, Pavia finds himself on the wrong side of Murphy’s Law after being overlooked across all seven rounds of the 2026 NFL Draft.
He went unselected and didn’t even land an undrafted free-agent deal, instead accepting an invitation to the Baltimore Ravens’ minicamp next week. It’s been a sharp fall from grace for a player who finished as a Heisman finalist in 2025 and helped push Vanderbilt to the edge of the College Football Playoff.
Still, CBS Sports’ Shehan Jeyarajah argues that Pavia’s legacy shouldn’t be defined by going without an agent or by a somewhat checkered off-field record in college.
“Now, let’s be clear: Pavia did himself no favors during the pre-draft process,” Jeyarajah wrote. “After losing the Heisman to Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza, he made several expletive-laced public statements, including one aimed at Heisman voters for disrespecting him.” He added, “Pavia was also pictured at a nightclub getting bottle service next to a sign reading ‘F— Indiana,’ a jab at Mendoza. And while it’s gone largely unnoticed, his behavior has been immature for years. At New Mexico State, he famously trespassed on rival New Mexico’s practice field and urinated on it.
“These missteps are absolutely childish. If he had more pro-ready physical tools, they’d likely have hurt his draft stock. As it is, they might be affecting potential undrafted opportunities and minicamp invites. At the same time, they’re leading to revisionist history. … Pavia made some silly mistakes that rightly hurt his public image. But we don’t have to twist this into something it’s not. … Throughout his standout career, Pavia hasn’t been a problem inside his team’s facilities. He’s proven to be one of the hardest workers wherever he’s played. Tight end Eli Stowers, who roomed with Pavia at Vanderbilt after transferring with him from New Mexico State, can attest to that.”
Diego Pavia is the football equivalent of Marshall Henderson in the 2020s.
Henderson was a legendary, trash-talking, theatrical guard for Ole Miss in the mid-2010s who, like Pavia, played at two Division I schools with a JUCO stop in between. Henderson now works as a graduate manager for the Rebels.
Whether Pavia ends up in the NFL, UFL, CFL, or never plays another down, he should have similar standing offers waiting from Clark Lea’s Commodores or from the program in Las Cruces. At Vanderbilt especially, Pavia’s college legacy is rock-solid and will be remembered fondly for years to come and that alone should keep him employed, even if the NFL doesn’t work out.
