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By Cory Nightingale
Published:
Ex-Vanderbilt star quarterback Diego Pavia has big dreams that are pointed toward the NFL Draft on April 23 in Pittsburgh, and the signal caller who put Commodores football on the map the past 2 seasons is doing everything in his power during the leadup to the draft.
According to a report on Tuesday morning by NFL.com insider Ian Rapoport, the 2025 SEC Offensive Player of the Year had a visit lined up with the Carolina Panthers on Tuesday. The Panthers currently hold the 19th pick in the first round of the draft.
Because Pavia played 6 years of college football, he’s a little older than the average NFL rookie-to-be, turning 24 in February. But Pavia didn’t explode onto the college football scene until he transferred from New Mexico State to Vandy, where in 2 years he transformed a mostly moribund football program into a factor in the SEC.
#Vanderbilt QB Diego Pavia, the 2025 SEC Offensive Player of the Year, is visiting the #Panthers today, source says.
The 24-year-old helped Vandy to its first win over a top-5 team in program history. pic.twitter.com/9fHT9XmhBZ
During those 2 special seasons in Nashville, Pavia threw 49 touchdown passes and just 12 interceptions. After throwing for 2,293 yards during his first season at Vanderbilt in 2024, he stepped it up even more in 2025 with 3,539 yards through the air.
Passing was only half of his dynamic as a player, with Pavia piling up the rushing yards, too. He rushed for an even 800 yards in 2024 and matched that in 2025 with 862 yards on the ground, combining for 18 rushing touchdowns in those 2 seasons at Vandy.
He was invited to New York City last December as a Heisman Trophy finalist and nearly won the prestigious trophy, finishing second to Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza. Now, Pavia is trying to make his case that he’s an NFL quarterback despite his short stature. That case reportedly continued on Tuesday with Pavia’s visit to Carolina.
Pavia turned Vanderbilt into a relevant force in the SEC the past 2 seasons, but now the Commodores will look to contend for a conference title without him. Here is what the Kalshi market is currently saying about those top teams in the mix to win the 2026 SEC championship come December:
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
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