Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia is popping to a controversial soccer determine for recommendation forward of the upcoming NFL Draft.
The polarizing quarterback revealed that he’s connecting with former Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Johnny Manziel — who’s had his personal run-ins with controversy — for recommendation and mentorship because the draft inches nearer.
“He’s giving me what to look out for, what it’s like, methods to keep within the course of,” Pavia instructed reporters on the NFL Mix in Indianapolis on Friday, February 28. “And, , he’s given me some good recommendation, for certain.”
He continued, “And he all the time reaches out, too, checks up on me, makes certain I’m good, and he simply, like, he’s only a good friend to me, ? And so he’s giving me some mentorship. He’s been round me, he’s been round my household. He’s only a nice individual for those who actually don’t know him.”
Vanderbilt’s standout quarterback Diego Pavia put collectively a formidable faculty soccer season, which earned him a spot as a 2025 Heisman Trophy finalist. He completed the common season with 3,192 passing yards and 27 touchdowns, with solely eight interceptions. Pavia additionally ran for 826 yards and 9 touchdowns on the bottom, main the Commodores to (…)
Pavia completed second on this yr’s Heisman Trophy voting — behind Indiana quarterback and nationwide champion Fernando Mendoza — after placing up spectacular numbers in his closing yr at Vanderbilt. Pavia led the Commodores to a 10-2 season with 3,192 passing yards, 27 touchdowns and solely eight interceptions. He added 826 yards and 9 touchdowns on the bottom.
Just like Manziel’s story, Pavia’s profession has been rife with controversy, boiling over on the Heisman Trophy ceremony when Pavia posted disparaging messages to Heisman voters and the Indiana soccer group on his social media. He later apologized for the posts.
Pavia stated on Friday that NFL groups haven’t requested him about these eye-opening social media posts.
“Nope, they haven’t,” Pavia instructed reporters. “I simply suppose, not that they don’t care or no matter, however they sort of know the state of affairs already.”
Diego Pavia speaks to the media throughout the 2026 NFL Draft Mix
Michael Hickey/Getty PhotosHe continued, “One factor about me is I don’t care what folks take into consideration me. God has a plan for me regardless. However the way in which the media is, they’re supposed to place out clickbait and issues like that. That’s how folks get views, and that’s how folks make cash. I perceive that. And so folks will twist a narrative and attempt to put out unhealthy media to get clicks, good media to get clicks. That’s simply in the present day’s world that we stay in. So I’m simply adjusting to the brand new world.”
Manziel had his personal string of bother all through his faculty profession and into his temporary NFL profession.
His time at Texas A&M was marred with controversy main as much as the 2014 NFL Draft, the place he fell all the way in which to the No. 22 choose by the Cleveland Browns after he was projected to be chosen within the high 5.
He performed simply 14 video games within the NFL — all with the Browns — and was minimize by the group after two seasons as a result of private points, together with substance abuse.
Manziel has been open about his struggles with psychological well being and substance abuse, talking on the subject within the 2023 Netflix documentary, Untold: Johnny Soccer.
“After I had gotten the whole lot I’d ever needed, I feel I used to be essentially the most empty that I ever felt inside,” he stated. “I feel I used to be making an attempt to suppress how I felt and get out of being Johnny Soccer. (I) had purchased a gun that I knew I used to be going to make use of. I had deliberate to do the whole lot that I needed to do at that time in my life, spend as a lot cash as I probably may, after which my plan was to take my very own life.”
If you happen to or somebody is in emotional misery or contemplating suicide, name the Nationwide Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).