Diego Pavia’s bitter runner-up reaction — even with an apology — was dumb on every level
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The high road was sitting right there for Diego Pavia.
After the Vanderbilt quarterback became the 27th player in SEC history to earn a top-2 finish in the Heisman Trophy voting, the runner-up simply could’ve enjoyed a night out in New York City with his family, friends, his offensive line and seemingly anyone else who wanted to partake in the Pavia party. He could’ve celebrated the fact that the college football masses decided that he needed to be in New York on Saturday night, and if not for the similarly improbable run by Heisman winner Fernando Mendoza, Pavia would’ve been enshrined into the ultimate fraternity. Pavia could’ve literally raised a glass to his supporters and finished off a toast at a private party with “f— the voters,” continued on warpath to national relevance and nobody would’ve had any reason to change their opinion of him.
Instead, Pavia did the worst possible thing — he posted that message on his Instagram story.
Dumb, dumb, dumb.
Pavia made a dumb decision that could cost him dearly at this critical juncture in his life, wherein the margin for error for a sub-6 foot quarterback with more of a wrestler’s build is razor thin. It’s even thinner for those who don’t want to take the high road.
Yes, Pavia apologized 24 hours after he finished as runner-up. Clearly, someone told him that what he did was immature, petty and altogether, dumb.
What a shame. What a shame it is that people who gave Pavia the benefit of the doubt no longer have any reason to do so. You could forgive bravado because Pavia, in nearly every way, backed it up. Because kids do dumb things, you could even forgive Pavia for urinating on the New Mexico logo while he was the quarterback at New Mexico State, which didn’t make the final cut of his Heisman story while millions waited to see if he was about to win college football’s top individual honor.
But f— the voters? Nah. You see, 189 of those voters did indeed believe that Pavia was the best player in America and worthy of the Heisman. Another 352 penciled in Pavia as the No. 2 spot.
Personally, I was in that second group. I debated Mendoza and Pavia for multiple weeks, but ultimately went with Mendoza after he led Indiana to its first outright Big Ten Championship since 1945, and did so with the No. 2 QB rating in the second half/overtime among all Power Conference quarterbacks in the last decade (2023 Jayden Daniels was the only one who was better). Voters had no reason to “gate-keep” a player like Pavia because the winner came from Indiana, AKA the school with more losses than anyone in the history of the sport.
Pavia’s bitterness doesn’t stem from some in-depth breakdown he did of Mendoza’s play; it stems from his competitive ways. You can argue both that you, reader of this column, believed that he deserved to win the award and that Pavia’s edge is what has gotten him to this point, which comes out in everything he does.
You know where Pavia’s competitive edge didn’t have to come out, though? In a bitter Instagram story.
It’s equally concerning that he not only hit “send,” but that there was nobody close to him who advised against him hitting “send.” Coming from a Vanderbilt school that’s known for being smart, everything about that was dumb.
If Pavia wants to tell anyone he encounters for the rest of his life that he deserved to win the 2025 Heisman, that’s his right. Lord knows the late Pete Rose did his own version of that in his remaining days, and he had plenty of people who encouraged him to do so. But unlike the bitter Rose, Pavia’s story is supposed to have plenty more chapters.
Taking the high road, even with a not-so-subtle reference to the voting results, could’ve been posting that picture with all of his offensive linemen that read “never daunted.” We would’ve all had the reaction of “well, Pavia is telling himself that he got snubbed by Heisman voters and he plans on using it to motivate him with whatever his next chapter of football looks like.” That would’ve been on-brand while toeing the line between competitiveness and bitterness.
That didn’t happen, though. Instead, a guy who has already rubbed plenty of people the wrong way did something that even his closest allies probably didn’t approve of.
What do you think Clark Lea‘s reaction was when he saw that the guy he’s been banging the drum for posted “f— the voters” on his Instagram story? Dismay? Disgust? Humiliation? All could apply. After all, Lea is the same coach who responded to Vandy’s Playoff exclusion like an adult.
That’s what maturity looks like. Or rather, that’s what the high road looks like.
Pavia’s apology won’t erase what was an unnecessary blunder that could give potential partnerships pause to work with him. You don’t have to go back very far to see examples of NFL Draft stocks plummeting for backup quarterbacks who come with baggage. This goes beyond Pavia’s bank account and his NFL Draft stock, though. This is someone who has made a legitimate case to have a statue built for him outside of Vandy’s newly renovated stadium. His legacy at Vandy could last decades, but not if he makes dumb decisions like the one he made after he didn’t get the award he coveted.
Pavia has earned the right to respond confidently in any situation that presents itself. If he just followed the status quo throughout his life, he probably would’ve spent Saturday night coaching in a high school wrestling tournament somewhere in New Mexico instead of celebrating a Heisman Trophy invite in New York.
But Pavia’s celebration will now be part of his story. The high road means owning that dumb decision.
Connor O'Gara is the senior national columnist for Saturday Down South. He's a member of the Football Writers Association of America. After spending his entire life living in B1G country, he moved to the South in 2015.
