Diego Pavia on fighting through injury: 'I'm willing to die for Jerry Kill'

Diego Pavia and the Vanderbilt Commodores continue to wreak havoc in the SEC. The ‘Dores knocked off their second straight SEC opponent in as many weeks, following up their historical stunner over Alabama with another victory. This weekend’s victims were the Kentucky Wildcats on their home field in Lexington.

Vanderbilt entered the game as 14-point underdogs. And they managed to prevail on Saturday with a 20-13 win over the Wildcats. Following the game, Vandy dual-threat quarterback Diego Pavia spoke with Cole Cubelic of the SEC Network on Kroger Field.

“I’ll tell you one thing. You know, we’re hard hat lunch pail now. Vanderbilt’s a team you’ve gotta lookout for. Coach Lea’s been trying to do this since he got here. Just needed that little switch. You’ve guys have seen the character of these guys. I mean, they want to win more than anything. They hate losing. But you know, shout out to the defense,” Pavia began.

“For us to win with only 20 points on the scoreboard. That’s huge man. The defense showed out tonight. O-line, we ran the ball. I did nothing tonight. To be honest. From those other games. I didn’t do nothing,” Pavia explained.

Plenty of people said the emotional high of taking down the Alabama Crimson Tide was gonna be too much for the ‘Dores to handle this week. And that they weren’t going to be able to get another win. “That ain’t us. That ain’t us. Coach Lea has a specific script for us to follow. Coach Kill’s hard on us and it. Up front, Coach K [Klenakis]. He doesn’t let the unit slip at all. They’re in there before anyone, the o-line. I get in there and the o-line is in there. So, shoutout to them. They’re leading the way..” Pavia continued. Before he was interrupted by one of his offensive linemen.

Pavia on his relationship with Jerry Kill

One of the most underrated additions in college football this offseason was the addition of Jerry Kill to the coaching staff with the Vanderbilt Commodores. And he’s made a dramatic instant impact during his time in Nashville, because of his connection with Diego Pavia and their tight knit relationship.

Pavia had to battle through numerous injuries on Saturday night, but he knew there was no way he was coming out of the game. And he used Jerry Kill as his inspiration. Pavia is willing to lay it all on the line for his fearless leader.

“I mean, if you look at Jerry Kill. What he’s done for us, man. I will not quit on that guy. I don’t care if I’ve got a broken arm, broken anything. I do this for Jerry Kill. The stuff he has problems with off this field, way bigger than an injury like I got,” Pavia explained.

“I’m willing to die for him,” Pavia noted of his beloved coach. “I want to shoutout God too. If it wasn’t for him, my life wouldn’t have changed. I wouldn’t have been here on this platform. Shoutout God.”