Diego Pavia does the impossible, made himself unlikable

By Chris Marler

Impossible is nothing.

That’s an old motivational saying for athletes regurgitated so many times in field houses and weight rooms that Adidas even made it into their brand slogan roughly 20 years ago. 

And, there are a lot of “impossible” things that Diego Pavia has made seem like “nothing.” 

A former JUCO player who received zero scholarship offers out of high school. 

A transfer QB from New Mexico Military Institute with one offer for Division I ball after JUCO at New Mexico State. 

A kid no one had heard of transferring to Vanderbilt and beating Alabama for the first time in 40 years. 

A sixth year senior who told anyone that would listen this past offseason that Vanderbilt would compete for a playoff spot this season. 

Those are all the “impossible is nothing” storylines we should’ve been talking about this weekend following the Heisman. But Diego Pavia wouldn’t allow it. In fact, Diego Pavia went out his way to make sure it was the last thing any of us thought about this weekend. And on a weekend full of nostalgia and stories of perseverance, he managed to turn himself into something that seemed impossible. 

No, not a villain. Unlikable. 

Alabama’s student section got the last laugh with Vanderbilt QB Diego Pavia: pic.twitter.com/oI4xtds1oV

— Henry Sklar (@HenryOSklar) October 6, 2025

There are tons of villains in the world of college football, but most of them still have redeeming qualities. Most of them still have a fanbase that will excuse their own behavior or non-fans that can at least understand it. Jameis Winston at Florida State, Baker Mayfield at Oklahoma, and Lane Kiffin at — well maybe that’s not the best example anymore. 

All of those people were villains in college football, but all of those people lived, or played, long enough to spin that narrative into a positive and become incredibly likable. 

This weekend in New York, Pavia seemed hellbent on not affording himself that same luxury. 

Maybe the incessant trash talk, seemingly me-first attitude, and crotch grab heard around the world at the Alabama student section weren’t enough. His trip to New York made sure to cement his place in college football, and none of it for good reasons. 

The sad part for Pavia is that while he wasn’t offered many scholarships, he was offered something else – excuses. The idea that this kid was just misunderstood, played with a chip on his shoulder, and my personal favorite, had to act a certain way to keep his competitive edge were all offered up as justifications for his behavior. 

Sure. 

But, on a weekend where the Heisman Trophy ceremony should’ve served as a culmination of his achievements, he viewed it as just another opportunity to get away with the same behavior he’s gotten away with for the last several years. At any point in New York, he could’ve sat back, taken it all in, and said man I have really made something of myself. A former zero star prospect turned runner-up in the most prestigious individual award in sports? My God what a story. 

Instead, he bragged about himself over former Heisman Trophy winners, sent out an Instagram story saying “F*** the voters”, and then was seen in another viral social media video giving the middle finger to a sign reading “F*** Indiana” at a club at roughly three in the morning. 

Diego Pavia with a post-Heisman message pic.twitter.com/z18IUGz66t

— Chris Marler (@Vern_Funquist) December 14, 2025

What are we doing, man? 

It’s not going to affect his draft status because he was most likely going to be a day three pick or undrafted free agent either way. It won’t affect his legacy with most Vanderbilt fans who, like most SEC fans, are willing to look the other way at embarrassing off field antics if it means on the field their program is winning ten games for the first time in school history. It probably won’t even matter to Pavia, who despite being almost 24 years old and still in college has shown no urge to grow up any time soon. 

In Pavia’s mind he is just Johnny Manziel ten years later. But what Manziel had that Pavia doesn’t, besides a Heisman trophy, is enough ability to do these types of things and still be a first round draft pick. Pavia had turned himself into a TEMU Johnny Manziel that’s somehow even more self-destructive and self-sabotaging because the ceiling for him is so much lower to the floor than it ever was for Johnny Football. 

Diego Pavia went to New York with a chance to write a story. And that he did. The autobiographer of one of the most incredible college football stories in well over a decade somehow turning the most likable story into the least likable main character we’ve seen in years? 

Yep, impossible is nothing.