"Just an amazing player": Mark Stoops on what makes Vanderbilt's Diego Pavia special

Vanderbilt is the talk of college football following Saturday’s upset of No. 1 Alabama. The story just gets better when you learn about the Commodores’ leading man, Diego Pavia.

The New Mexico State transfer turned some heads in Vandy’s season-opening win over Virginia Tech on Aug. 31; on Saturday, he was catapulted to superstardom. Pavia finished 16-20 for 252 passing yards through the air and another 56 on the ground. He sliced and diced the Alabama defense, leading three straight scoring drives in the final 20 minutes to cement the 40-35 victory, Vanderbilt’s first ever over a No. 1-ranked team.

If Pavia’s play on the field wasn’t thrilling enough, he went viral for his postgame interview, in which he talked about the vision God sent him as a child, dropped an F-bomb, and embraced his brothers. It’s quite a journey for a player who was unranked as a recruit and took the long way to Division I, playing for New Mexico Military Institute for two years before transferring to New Mexico State. After two seasons with the Aggies — which included an upset win over Auburn — Pavia transferred to Vanderbilt. Now, he’s college football’s new folk hero, the second coming of Johnny Manziel. On Saturday, Kentucky will be tasked with stopping him.

Count Mark Stoops among Pavia’s many fans. During today’s press conference, Stoops raved about Pavia’s game, particularly his performance vs. Alabama, for which he won SEC Offensive Player of the Week honors.

“Just an amazing player; he really is,” Stoops said. “He’s completing nearly 80% of his passes, along with all the deception that they have in their offense but he’s also seeing things at a very, very high level and playing some very good football.”

Kentucky’s defense proved itself vs. Georgia and Ole Miss, slowing down Heisman hopefuls Carson Beck and Jaxson Dart. Pavia is similar to Dart in how he can make plays happen with his legs, but Stoops said Pavia is in a class of his own when it comes to making decisions under pressure.

“I’d say he’s a little bit unique to somebody we’ve seen in a bit of time. I think he’s extremely good at ball handling. He makes very good decisions. He’s good in rhythm and on time and he’s very accurate. He’s much more accurate, he’s completing, like I said, I think it’s 80%, right in that range, and it’s not just short passes.

“But he’s very good with the ball in his hands. He’s good at feeling pressure, and so when he escapes pressure, he does a remarkable job of finding people down the field and hitting open receivers. And that’s obviously a gift. He’s a very good player. He’s very well-coached, but he’s special in that regard.”

For Pavia (and really, Vanderbilt), Saturday’s win over Alabama eclipses anything that will happen Saturday in Lexington. Kentucky could hold Pavia to 150 yards and force three turnovers and most people will only remember him as the kid who led Vandy to the upset of the season. His story isn’t just that of an underdog, it’s another example of how the transfer portal is changing the college football landscape for the better by giving programs like Vanderbilt a shot at establishing themselves with talent that might have otherwise gone elsewhere.

Pavia was originally committed to Nevada after last season. When New Mexico State coach Jerry Kill and offensive coordinator Tim Beck left the Aggies to join Clark Lea at Vanderbilt, they asked Pavia to join them. Even though it was a bigger risk than going to Nevada, he agreed. And now, he’s a star; one we’ll go back to rooting for after Kentucky takes care of business on Saturday.

“The first thing for him is you just have to congratulate him on his perseverance and obviously, the personal drive that he has and the competitive nature that he has, and the perseverance that he has, but he’s a very good football player, and he’s proven that,” Stoops said. “And I think we all would say we like teams and we like players that have a chip on their shoulder. And certainly, he’s playing that way, and you have to commend him for just, not only that — I mean, he wants to win for his team, but he wants to prove people wrong, of course, and he wants to play well, but for his team.”

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