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Welcome to the NFL, Diego Pavia. Well, NFL minicamp, that is.
After waiting three days to hear his name called in the 2026 NFL draft, and then waiting even longer as many quarterbacks signed onto NFL teams as undrafted free agents, Pavia has accepted an invite to the Ravens’ minicamp next weekend, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Baltimore will hold its rookie minicamp starting next Saturday, May 2. The Ravens boast an 11-player 2026 draft class, led by first-round pick Olaivavega Ioane, a guard from Penn State. Baltimore reportedly has agreed to sign 15 players as undrafted free agents—a list that does not include Pavia, who only accepted a minicamp invite. None of those 11 draft picks or 15 reported undrafted free agents are quarterbacks.
The Ravens only have two quarterbacks on their roster heading into 2026 in Lamar Jackson and Snoop Huntley.
What does it all mean? Pavia, the first Heisman Trophy finalist to go undrafted since 2014, still has a long journey ahead of him if he’s going to make a roster or practice squad this fall. But he will be on an NFL practice field next weekend with the Ravens’ rookie class.
Here are four things to know about the NFL-hopeful quarterback:
Pavia received a Division I college scholarship offer for wrestling, but not for football
Born and raised in Albuquerque, N.M., Pavia was a three-sport athlete at Volcano Vista High School, playing football, baseball and wrestling. His success as a wrestler—which included a state championship—earned him a partial scholarship offer from the University of Nebraska.
Pavia decided to pursue football instead, and as a senior led the Volcano Vista Hawks to an 11–0 record while totaling 23 total touchdowns as a dual-threat quarterback. Despite this, however, he was not offered a single Division I scholarship to play the sport at the collegiate level, and only received two (from Western Colorado and Western Mexico) at the Division II level.
Pavia played six seasons of college football
After failing to receive said Division I scholarship, Pavia decided to go the junior college route to pursue his dream of playing college football, and committed to New Mexico Military Institute.
Over two seasons with the Broncos, Pavia started 21 games, going 16–5 while throwing 31 touchdowns to just four interceptions and adding three scores on the ground. In 2021, he led NMMI to a 12–1 record and a victory over Iowa Western in the NJCAA championship—a game that catapulted him to the Division I level. New Mexico State coaches Jerry Kill and Tim Beck planned to offer Iowa Western quarterback Nate Glantz a scholarship heading into said title game, but after a three-touchdown performance in a 31–13 victory, they pivoted to Pavia instead.
The signal-caller then went on to start 23 games for the Aggies across 2022 and ’23, scoring 52 total touchdowns while notching a 14–9 record, which included a notable upset victory on the road against Auburn in ’23.
Following the 2023 season, Pavia transferred to Vanderbilt—alongside Beck, his offensive coordinator, and tight end Eli Stowers—for what he initially believed would be his final year of eligibility.
Amid helping the Commodores close out a 7–6 2024 campaign with a win in the Birmingham Bowl, Pavia was granted a sixth year of eligibility by the NCAA after he argued that counting his junior college seasons toward his eligibility, “is a violation of antitrust law that was unfairly limiting his ability to make money from his name, image and likeness.” He made the most of it, tallying career-highs in passing yards (3,539), completion percentage (70.6%), passing touchdowns (29) and passer rating (170.4) in 2025—the latter three of which led the SEC. He also ran for 862 yards on the ground and added 10 rushing touchdowns while leading Vanderbilt to its first 10-win season in program history.
Pavia made headlines this past year for his comments toward Heisman Trophy voters
Pavia’s sensational 2025 season at Vanderbilt earned him a spot as a Heisman Trophy finalist alongside Fernando Mendoza, Jeremiah Love, and Julian Sayin. After it was revealed that he ultimately finished second to Mendoza, he made quite a pointed comment toward the voters.
“F-all the voters 👎,” Pavia wrote on his Instagram story, while sharing a post from comedian Theo Von. “But ….. Family for life.”
He quickly apologized, writing on X (formerly Twitter): “Being a part of the Heisman ceremony last night as a finalist was such an honor. As a competitor, just like in everything I do I wanted to win. To be so close to my dream and come up short was painful. I didn’t handle those emotions well at all and did not represent myself the way I wanted to. I have much love and respect for the Heisman voters and the selection process, and I apologize for being disrespectful. It was a mistake, and I am sorry.”
Pavia once again cleared the air on his comments during his appearance on Jon Gruden’s QB Class this spring, saying that, “It came from a competitive spirit type of thing. I’m always competitive in everything I do, to this day. And no one wants to take second, you know what I mean? And it was just how I felt at the time. Obviously I apologize for it, it wasn’t the right action that I should have made at that time. Fernando won it, and he’s a great player, and he’s getting drafted projected No. 1 overall.”
Pavia is prepared to do whatever it takes to win at the next level
Also inside Pavia’s visit with Gruden was a conversation about the quarterback’s role in the NFL. As Gruden pointed out, a team could very well bring Pavia in as backup to begin his career—while also asking him to contribute to the offense right away in non-traditional fashion.
“Make a note, Taysom Hill,” Gruden told Pavia. “ … He’s a badass. Now what if [a team drafts you and says], ‘Okay we’ve got a starting quarterback right now. We’re going to teach you the offense and we’re going to bring you along in our system. But, we could use you, right away, with some of these Taysom Hill-like plays.’”
“Put me on the f— field.” Pavia interjected with a smile. “Hell yeah, put me on the field … as long as we’re winning, I don’t care.”
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MIKE KADLICK
Mike Kadlick is a contributor to the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Before joining SI in November 2024, he covered the New England Patriots for WEEI sports radio in Boston and continues to do so for CLNS Media. He has a master's in public relations from Boston University. Kadlick is also an avid runner and a proud lover of all things pizza.
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