No CFB fan can deny the fact that Vanderbilt’s Diego Pavia is one of the main reasons behind their success this season. However, it seems that their recent 7-28 loss of South Carolina has had a negative impact on Pavia’s performance and has also affected his position in the NFL draft. It’s interesting to note that just a few weeks ago, Pavia was receiving a lot of attention for his outstanding performance against the Auburn Tigers. Let’s take a closer look at what all the fuss is about.

On November 12, NFL draft analyst Chad Reuter took to X to share his list of top 400 prospects of the 2025 NFL draft, saying, “Some players on the list will return to school, and many things will change between now and April.” But it turns out Vanderbilt’s star quarterback, Diego Pavia, is not on the list. Shocking, right? Pavia has been a backbone of Vandy’s offense this season, and he is one of the reasons the team is Bowl-eligible this year, but it looks like his performance carries no value as Diego has not made it to a single spot in the long list of 400 prospects.

A few days back, SEC Network’s official Instagram account shared a reel of Diego Pavia’s gameplay during their faceoff against South Carolina, saying, “DIEGO PAVIA IS AN ATHLETE 😤” Even after showcasing a poor game against South Caroline the SEC account was hyping Pavia. Which didn’t board well with the fans, as it came off quite unnecessary. After this post, fans started giving him a hard time for his performance and started calling him “overrated.” Now the ranking part looks like the claim got real too soon for him.

There is no denying the fact that Diego Pavia’s execution was not up to par against South, as the quarterback recorded 166 passing yards with 0 interceptions, but he did get sacked twice. But you can also not ignore the fact that even after suffering a lower body injury during the game, Pavia did try to put up a decent game. Also, every day is not the same; one bad day should not affect the efforts Diego has been putting in since the start of the season.

Diego Pavia’ efforts for Vanderbilt

It’s not a small thing to take a program from 2 to 10 to 6-4, and Diego Pavia did that for the Vanderbilt Commodores. Since the start of the season, Pavia has showcased a remarkable hold over the game. In his 10 games this season, Pavia has completed 1843 yards with 15 touchdowns and 3 interceptions, which not only gave an edge to the Vandy’ but made him a threat for most of the teams in the tournament. The team’s biggest victory was when Pavia led them through an exceptional win against Alabama, which Vandy couldn’t do in 40 long years. But it looks like one bad performance can sideline all your efforts.

However, even though Diego Pavia is in a tough spot after his gameplay against South Carolina, head coach Clark Lea has immense faith in him and the dedication he has for the team, saying, “I have such affection for him and belief in him and appreciation for him.” The question remains: will the rising hate impact Diego Pavia’s performance for the rest of the season, or will he bounce back and silence his critics? Well, only time can tell that!