Diego Pavia’s impact on Vanderbilt football cannot be overstated.
The former Commodores QB led Vanderbilt to a 10-win season in 2025, the best finish in the program’s football history. After years and years of irrelevance, Vanderbilt suddenly has real momentum heading into a season for the first time in a long time.
Now, though, the Commodores have to continue on without him with Pavia off to the NFL. While speaking at SEC Media Days on Tuesday, coach Clark Lea told reporters that Vanderbilt simply won’t be able to replicate his presence in the locker room and on the field.
“We won’t replicate Diego,” Lea said. “He’s unique in so many ways. Gosh, you know, to take just a moment and talk about how grateful I am to have coached him, to have had him be a part of our program for two years, then to pivot and say, you know, there are a lot of guys that have been working in the shadows doing all the little things that leaders do that haven’t had the spotlight turned on them.”
Now, Vanderbilt is set to turn to true freshman Jared Curtis or senior Blaze Berlowitz to lead the Commodores.
As Lea pointed out, results aren’t inherited across seasons in college football. For now, Lea noted that he is “pleased” with Vanderbilt’s work in recognizing that fact and insisted that Vanderbilt will have to define its own identity with Pavia’s chapter in Nashville having come to a close.
“Now it’s their turn,” Lea said “We inherit the standards, the culture, the attitude, the expectation to win. We don’t inherit any one result from our past. So this group has to build its own chemistry. This group has to define its own identity as a team. To say that we’ve done that to this point, I’ve been pleased with our work, but I think we have ground to cover yet. I’m talking about to represent what 2026 Vanderbilt football will look like, but I know we have the pieces to do it.”
Vanderbilt is set to open its season on September 5 against Austin Peay.
Prediction Markets College Football SEC Championship Winner (2026) Learn more about Prediction Markets Kalshi Georgia 24% Texas 20% LSU 11% Alabama 10% Texas A&M 9% Oklahoma 6% Florida 3% Missouri 1% Arkansas 1% Vanderbilt 1% PredictClark Lea speaks on moving forward without Diego Pavia: ‘We won’t replicate Diego’ Saturday Down South.
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