Diego Pavia to throw at the NFL combine, betting big despite size concerns – Newsday

Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia (14) speaks during a news conference at the NFL football scouting combine in Indianapolis, Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. Credit: AP/Julio Cortez
INDIANAPOLIS — Quarterback Diego Pavia, runner-up in the Heisman Trophy voting, said Friday he will throw passes at the NFL scouting combine.
The quarterbacks are scheduled to go through drills on Saturday. Heisman winner and expected No. 1 pick Fernando Mendoza of Indiana said he would wait until his pro day on April 1 to throw passes.
Pavia said he will not go through additional on-field drills and will instead wait for Vanderbilt's pro day on March 18.
He is viewed as a later-round pick largely because of his size. Pavia measured at just less than 5-foot-10. Mendoza, by comparison, is 6-5.
But Pavia's confidence is not in short supply, something that has gotten him in trouble. He lashed out at Heisman voters in a social media post last year before later apologizing.
While saying Friday he didn't “care what people think about me,” Pavia emphasized he takes a cerebral approach to the game.
“I think my mind is just underrated, just the way I process," Pavia said. "I feel like I’m a fast processor.
National Team quarterback Diego Pavia (2), of Vanderbilt, carries the ball during the second half of the Senior Bowl NCAA college football game Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026, in Mobile, Ala. Credit: AP/Butch Dill
“I’m humble, and I get my confidence from my process. And if you saw what, how much I put into this, you would see where I get my confidence from.”
Whether it's confidence or brashness, Pavia helped drive a Vanderbilt team — often a bottom-dweller in the Southeastern Conference — to a No. 9 ranking in The Associated Press poll at one point last season.
Now he hopes to transfer that play over to the NFL, and Pavia perhaps poked fun at himself regarding his on- and off-field reputation.
“(Vanderbilt) Coach (Clark) Lea always stressed that your frontal lobe isn’t fully developed until you’re 25, and I just turned 24,” Pavia said. “So I’ve got like 360 days to go.”
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