Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia waited three days of the NFL draft to see if he would receive a phone call from a team wanting to pick him up. Unfortunately for Pavia, he didn’t hear his name called and became the first Heisman Trophy finalist since 2014 to go undrafted.
Pavia himself hasn’t spoken out about the draft results yet, but he’s had support pouring in from the college football world. Colorado coach and Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders was one of the people who publicly supported Pavia on Saturday evening by tweeting a message to the quarterback.
“@diegopavia02 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”
Sanders’s son Deion Jr. even tweeted a message to Pavia on Saturday.
“Make them regret it @diegopavia02,” he wrote.
Pavia never played for Sanders, but the coach knows what it’s like to experience draft disappointment. His son Shedeur dropped to the fifth round last year after originally being expected to be a first-round pick. The coach tweeted an uplifting message for his son last year after he fell out of the first round.
Pavia won't be giving up after the draft. He can still be signed by a team this offseason. There’s already been quite a few undrafted quarterbacks to be picked up by NFL teams since the draft ended, but as of Sunday evening, Pavia wasn’t one of them. His opportunity isn’t over yet, so all eyes will be on him to see if Pavia lands with an NFL team this offseason.
Why Pavia likely didn’t get drafted
The Vanderbilt starter made headlines at the 2026 Senior Bowl in January after he measured at 5’9 and 7/8”. Pavia was listed on the Commodores’ website at 6’0” for years, but that wasn’t his true height. If he would’ve been drafted, Pavia would instantly become the shortest starting quarterback in the league. Right now, that title is held by Kyler Murray and Bryce Young who both stand at 5’10”.
Aside from Pavia’s height, there’s been concern of his game-style, too. Here’s what draft expert Todd McShay had to say about Pavia’s game during the Senior Bowl in January.
“I don't think that Diego Pavia can play quarterback in the NFL,” McShay said. “You watch him during team sessions, and you watch him during some of the 7-on-7 stuff, and there's some fun things to watch… but, when you watch him have to drive the ball, NFL throws, it's not the same as the other guys. I’m saying when you watch him out there, you start to wonder are the limitations going to be too much at the next level.”
Pavia did finish second in voting for the Heisman Trophy behind Fernando Mendoza, the No. 1 draft pick. He went viral then, too, for posting a not-safe-for-work message to the voters for picking him second to Mendoza. Controversies like this one may not have helped his draft status, either. Posting something like he did about to respectable football figures doesn’t put Pavia in the best light.
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MADISON WILLIAMS
Madison Williams is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated, where she specializes in tennis but covers a wide range of sports from a national perspective. Before joining SI in 2022, Williams worked at The Sporting News. Having graduated from Augustana College, she completed a master’s in sports media at Northwestern University.
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