Diego Pavia set 32 NFL hats on a table at his draft party this weekend. When the 2026 NFL Draft ended on Saturday, he had not put on a single one.
The Vanderbilt quarterback, who finished second in the 2025 Heisman Trophy voting, who led a program to its first 10-win season in history, who totaled 119 touchdowns across four college seasons, did not hear his name called.
He became the first Heisman Trophy finalist to go undrafted since 2014.
Coach Prime and family reached out to the quarterback after the draft snub. Deion Sanders posted on X:
“I BELIEVE IN YOU, MY MAN! Stay strong and don’t let up. Show them what time it is and never allow them to forget. Much Love & God bless you. #PRIME.”
His son Deion “Bucky” Jr. added his own message, “Make them regret it @diegopavia02.”
The message carried extra weight because Sanders had tried to recruit Pavia before. He offered him a spot at Jackson State, but was honest that Shedeur Sanders would still be the starting quarterback.
Pavia chose a different path, one that eventually led him to New Mexico State and then Vanderbilt and then the most unusual Heisman finalist story in years, but the connection between the two remained.
Who Is Diego Pavia?
The short version of Diego Pavia’s career is that he is a 24-year-old quarterback from New Mexico who had no FBS offers out of high school, won a JUCO national championship, transferred to New Mexico State, transferred to Vanderbilt, sued the NCAA for an extra year of eligibility and won, led Vanderbilt to its first 10-win season in program history, finished second in Heisman voting, and then was not selected by any of the 32 NFL teams across seven rounds of the draft.
In four seasons, two with New Mexico State and two with Vanderbilt, Pavia totaled 10,255 yards passing, 3,094 yards rushing and 119 total touchdowns.
His senior season numbers at Vanderbilt were legitimately outstanding. He led the SEC in completion percentage (70.6%), passing touchdowns (29) and yards per attempt (9.4).
His 4,402 total yards led all Power Four players, and that accounted for more than 70% of the Commodores’ total offense.
Before he arrived at Vanderbilt, the program had not had a winning season since James Franklin left after the 2013 season.
Vanderbilt had won a combined 12 games over the previous five campaigns, from 2019-23. Pavia went 7-6 in his first season, then 10-3 in his second, the first-ever 10-win season in program history.
Getting that second season required a lawsuit. Pavia claimed the NCAA violated antitrust law by counting his time at New Mexico Military Institute, his JUCO, toward his NCAA eligibility clock, which affected his ability to earn NIL money.
A federal judge in Tennessee granted an injunction that allowed Pavia to play a sixth season of college football.
That ruling had a ripple effect on the college sports landscape, particularly NCAA eligibility rules. He won in court and used that extra year to lead Vanderbilt to the best season in program history.
Why He Went Undrafted
Two factors were working against Pavia beyond his control. Size and age.
While Vanderbilt officially listed Pavia at 6-foot, his combine measurement came in at a significantly smaller 5’9 7/8 inches.
That immediately put Pavia behind the eight-ball just based on history. In the modern era, the two smallest quarterbacks drafted were Kyler Murray and Bryce Young at 5’10 1/8 inches, those players both displayed high-end physical traits and went No. 1 overall despite questions about size.
Pavia did not have those physical traits to compensate. He was not only the shortest player at the NFL combine, but the shortest by more than two inches.
Then there was his behavior. After finishing second to Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza in Heisman voting, Pavia was spotted in a New York club next to a sign that read “F— Indiana.”
He also posted a photo on Instagram with the caption “F— ALL THE VOTERS, BUT … FAMILY FOR LIFE.”
He later apologized, saying Mendoza was “a deserving winner of the award,” but the damage had been done in NFL front offices where decision-makers were already skeptical about the size issue.
It is worth holding both things simultaneously. Pavia has not been a problem inside his football buildings.
He’s established himself as one of the hardest workers everywhere he’s played. Vanderbilt tight end Eli Stowers, who transferred with him from New Mexico State and knows him as well as anyone, said, “As a person, I love him to death. He’s the best teammate you could have.”
Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea put it plainly, “This kid has had an unbelievable career.”
The NFL saw a player who measured under 5’10”, was 24 years old, and had done something embarrassing in public after losing an award.
The production was real. The path was extraordinary. The outcome was still 32 hats on a table and none of them worn.
The Significance Of Pavia Not Being Drafted
Pavia became the first Heisman Trophy finalist to go undrafted in the NFL Draft since 2014.
That player was Jordan Lynch, a running quarterback from Northern Illinois who unsuccessfully tried to change positions in the NFL.
Pavia also became the first Heisman runner-up since Brad Banks in 2003 to go undrafted.
The two players who finished behind Pavia in 2025 Heisman voting were selected in the top three of the 2026 NFL Draft. Fernando Mendoza went No. 1 overall to the Las Vegas Raiders.
Jeremiyah Love went No. 3 overall to the Arizona Cardinals. The Heisman runner-up went undrafted while the players who finished first and third became top-three picks.
That particular combination has no precedent in the modern history of the award.
Where Does Pavia Go From Here?
Late on Sunday, Pavia accepted an invitation to the Baltimore Ravens’ rookie minicamp, confirmed by ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The Ravens’ quarterback depth chart currently features Lamar Jackson and Tyler Huntley.
Pavia’s path to any kind of NFL role is narrow, but narrow paths have never stopped him before.
He went from no FBS offers to JUCO national champion to Power Four starter to SEC Offensive Player of the Year to Heisman finalist in roughly five years.
The argument that he has repeatedly defied the odds is not a sentiment. It is a documented pattern.
Sanders understands that pattern. He recruited Pavia. He watched him choose another path and then watched him do something extraordinary with it.
When the draft ended without Pavia’s name being called, Sanders did not offer condolences. He offered belief, “Show them what time it is and never allow them to forget,” which is the appropriate message for a man who has spent his entire football life doing exactly that.
The 32 hats were not put on in Nashville on Saturday. A minicamp invitation from Baltimore arrived on Sunday. The story is not over.
