Diego Pavia is not someone who lacks confidence. The Vanderbilt quarterback was recently on The Paul Finebaum Show, saying his goal for the 2025 season was to win the national championship. A statement many would laugh at, Pavia surely is not joking about the matter. Pavia, at the very least, has the support of legendary […]
Diego Pavia is not someone who lacks confidence. The Vanderbilt quarterback was recently on The Paul Finebaum Show, saying his goal for the 2025 season was to win the national championship. A statement many would laugh at, Pavia surely is not joking about the matter.
Pavia, at the very least, has the support of legendary head coach Steve Spurrier. He might not buy into what Pavia is selling but Spurrier is a fan of the confidence. Manifesting Vanderbilt doing the unthinkable to most might be the only possible mindset in order to pull it off.
“Odds are, they probably will not,” Spurrier said. “But if they did, at least one of the guys on their teams believed they had a chance to do it. I like his attitude… Set your goals high.”
Vanderbilt became one of college football’s top stories last season. While the final record read 7-6 — not anything many in the SEC would boast about — the Commodores were over .500 for the first time since 2013 when James Franklin was the head coach. The same can be said about the program winning a bowl game.
No moment brought a bigger high than taking down then-No. 1 ranked Alabama. Kalen DeBoer‘s squad was fresh off beating Georgia and left Nashville on the wrong side of a historic upset. From that point forward, confidence has beamed from not just Pavia but everyone involved with Vanderbilt. Winning a national championship has now become the goal.
“NIL evened the playing field for a lot of teams,” Pavia said on The Paul Finebaum Show. “We feel like we’ve got, offensively and defensively, our A-game vs. anyone’s, I like my team. You ask me who the best wide receiver in the country is, I’m gonna tell you someone on my team. You ask me who the best o-lineman is, I’m gonna tell you someone on my team. Same thing with safeties, DBs, everything. …
“I think we’ve got the tools – offensively and defensively – to go really put our foot forward and go win a national championship,” Pavia said. “… I wasn’t cracking a joke. That’s the standard.”
In Pavia’s mind, the national championship run will begin on Aug. 30 against Charleston Southern. Vanderbilt will play Virginia Tech as its big-time nonconference opponent before getting into what should be a tough SEC schedule. Pavia is hoping to, once again, prove a bunch of people wrong, including Spurrier.
Category: General Sports
