Johnny Manziel on Diego Pavia vs. Alabama: 'This was a performance for the ages'

Johnny Manziel watched Diego Pavia against Alabama and maybe thought the Vanderbilt quarterback was his Texas A&M persona reincarnated.

Well, Pavia called himself another version of Manziel, to some extent of course, earlier this year. But there’s no denying Pavia pulled off one of the great upsets in recent college football history.

Manziel said Pavia put himself in the Vanderbilt and SEC history books.

“(Diego Pavia) plays with a lot of fire and a lot of tenacity, “ Manziel said, via Action Network. “This was a performance for the ages.”

“[Pavia] came out and played absolutely fearless,” Manziel said. “When they needed a play, they went to him and he made some really big time throws, was able to evade some rushers, and really put this Vanderbilt team on his back.”

Pavia finished the game 16-of-20 passing for 252 yards, two touchdowns and 20 carries fro 56 yards. He was the catalyst to the upset over the previously No. 1 ranked Crimson Tide.

“I think the thing [Pavia] does best is after he comes off the play fake, just putting air under the ball so [Vanderbilt wide receiver Junior] Sherrill can run and go grab this ball,” Manziel said of Pavia’s skills. “I think it’s an unbelievable throw to give him enough air under it to let him go out and run and grab it. And then it was an unbelievable catch, too.”

Johnny Manziel thrilled after Diego Pavia’s performance

How Pavia continues this season remains to be seen. But the Vanderbilt quarterback has more juice than ever before.

“Now, is every game going to be different in its own right? Sure,” Manziel said. “But this game has to give you a lot of confidence in your guys and in your offense. It’s not like they went out there and won the game 21-20 or anything. 

“They put up 40 points against a really good Alabama defense. So you have to be able to go through the rest of the season knowing that and having the mindset that you can score on anybody.”

In five games this season, Pavia has 973 yards, eight touchdowns, zero interceptions, a 66.7% completion percentage, 335 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns.

At this rate, Pavia might be good friends with Manziel if his stock keeps rising!

“I’m going to reach out to Pavia this week,” Manziel said. “I definitely gave him a follow on Twitter and Instagram after I saw the game and saw how much he was paying homage to me and showing me some love.”