After falling short in the Heisman Trophy race, Diego Pavia made sure he went out in style and typical to the standard that his family has set as uninhibited straight shooters who seek out smoke wherever they can find it. Usually at the bottom of a bottle in the case of Pavia’s brothers. Mom is cool. She just likes to twerk it up at the games and feed off the energy. The cameras fell in love with her to the point that College Football Analyst Joey Galloway expressed his annoyance with her multiple cameos during the game.
A polarizing family no doubt, with the talented Pavia driving the media train with his stellar play. As the 2026 NFL Draft looms, reports say Pavia isn’t even guaranteed to get drafted and his latest reaction to the Heisman voting won’t garner him any points with scouts.
Diego Pavia Takes Heisman Loss To Fernando Mendoza Hard: Sends Flagrant Message To Voters Via Social Media
The Vanderbilt quarterback sent a flagrant message to voters after Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza, a projected top 10 pick in the NFL Draft, took home the prestigious award on Saturday night in New York City.
The Vandy Dandy Pavia took to social media following his Heisman Trophy loss, reposted a photo of himself posing with a few of his Commodores’ teammates and captioned the message with a direct shot at the voters.
“F- all the voters, but family for life,” Pavia wrote, accompanied by a thumbs down emoji.
Cam Newton, Stephen A. Smith Blast Pavia’s Behavior Over Losing Heisman
Cam Newton and ESPN’s $100M Man Stephen A. Smith had some elderly advice for the NFL hopeful on “Monday’s “First Take” episode.
“I’m one of those voters, Diego,” said Newton, the 2010 Heisman winner. “When you start to think about these types of actions, there’s a quote that says, ‘Do not do anything that you’re going to end up apologizing for.’ Diego, that was classless. That was senseless.”
Newton emphasized that Pavia’s actions could lead to long-term ramifications, particularly as he looks toward a future at the professional level as a prospect that most draft analysts describe as a border line draft pick. Perception matters, ask Shedeur Sanders.
“You don’t handle business like that accordingly, especially if you want to be a potential franchise quarterback,” Newton added. “That is not the type of behavior that’s going to get you far.”
SAS says Pavia, 24, is old enough to know better.
In response, Stephen A. Smith echoed the criticism but placed responsibility squarely on Pavia himself:
“He’s old enough to know better,” Smith said. “I’m not going to blame his family or his friends. He did that on his own.”
“He didn’t deserve it?” Smith asked. “And then you’re in the club posting like that — how do you think NFL teams are going to judge that?”
Diego Pavia Says He’s “Undoubtedly The Best Player In College Football”
The race wasn’t close as the 23-year-old signal caller finished a distant second to Mendoza. Out of 930 ballots, Mendoza collected a total of 643 first-place votes compared to Pavia’s 189. Mendoza lifted the Hoosiers to a perfect 13–0 record, a Big Ten title and the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff.
With Pavia’s NFL prospects already questionable, or uncertain at the least. His combined performance, interviews and workouts will be crucial as he goes forward with his dream of becoming a pro. Fans immediately started clowning him with one posting a graphic of suggested spots for employment for Pavia after college in light of his recent F -u to the Eisman visitors.
The person who made the post wrote:
“Diego Pavia has a BIG decision to make after the bowl game.”
Then he offered a list of jobs; Footlocker, GameStop, Kroger, Car Mechanic, which the fans undoubtedly ate up, offering their choices on what job would be best suited for Pavia after he meets Iowa in the ReliaQuest Bowl
“Sources say the Browns are very interested,” one fan joked.
“He seems perfect for the Raiders,” quipped another.
“Low class, big mouth, limited talent….but thinks he’s awesome,” a third fan added.
“Car mechanic is actually a pretty decent job. I envision him more as a drug dealer,” one netizen suggested.
“Prison is the #1 answer with his obnoxious brothers,” said one fan.
“I don’t think he can see over the counter at GameStop,” one cruel fan said about Pavia, who is barely 6-foot, if that.
Pavia Apologized For His Post: Considered A Borderline NFL Prospect
Pavia took the advice of everyone around and offered a lengthy apology via X/Twitter.
“Being a part of the Heisman ceremony last night as a finalist was such an honor. As a competitor, just like in everything I do I wanted to win. To be so close to my dream and come up short was painful. I didn’t handle those emotions well at all and did not represent myself the way I wanted to. I have much love and respect for the Heisman voters and the selection process, and I apologize for being disrespectful. It was a mistake, and I am sorry…”
While Pavia — who threw for 3,192 yards, 27 touchdowns and eight interceptions while lifting the Commodores to a 10–2 record and a No. 14 national ranking, but according to The Athletic, Pavia is considered a borderline NFL prospect who has earned mostly “priority free agent” grades from NFL scouts so far, but they’ve also indicated that they wouldn’t be surprised if he’s selected in the later rounds (5-7).
Pavia’s family has a history of mixing it up and even getting arrested at games in wild drunken
Earlier this month, his mother’s exuberant performance for the cameras from the stands garnered the criticisms of some sports announcers such as Joey Galloway who felt that ESPN’s excessive coverage of Antoinette Pavia at games was overkill.
Diego Pavia’s Brothers Javier and Roel Arrested Several Times This Season
While his mom may attract attention, Pavia’s brothers have been straight renegades, having broken the law on multiple occasions this season, including during last Saturday’s regular-season finale, a 45-24 thrashing of SEC rival Tennessee.
According to reports, Diego’s brother Javier was arrested by Knoxville Police and charged with public intoxication. The 25-year-old reportedly “got mouthy with an officer” when told to take down a large flag that was obstructing the view of other fans inside Neyland Stadium. Pavia was later released under his own recognizance after spending the night in jail. Photos show him pressed up against a truck looking quite flustered and embarrassed.
Diego explained previously that the behavior is just how it is when you grow up in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
“The thing is, Albuquerque is like a real-life GTA (the “Grand Theft Auto” video game series), so it’s always been kind of like normal to us, you know,” Pavia said. “And these have been the first two years where it’s been like, alright, we have to chill out.”
Pavia isn’t concerned about his family getting arrested or acting drunk and unruly at football games. In fact, the Heisman Trophy candidate says they are good luck to the Commodores.He had a great season, but it appears that the 24-year-old, sixth-year senior still has a lot of growing up to do. Let’s see what NFL scouts say.
