NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Vanderbilt football had a pair of players earn Associated Press All-America honors with the announcement Monday that Eli Stowers and Diego Pavia were first- and second-team selections, respectively, by the organization.
It’s the first time multiple Commodores have earned All-America recognition in the same season since Bill Maranangel and Boo Mitchell in 1996, while it marks the first occasion since the 1982 campaign—when Jim Arnold and Allama Matthews were honored—that two Dores have been named Associated Press All-Americans.
Stowers, who was named first-team All-America by the Walter Camp Football Foundation Friday, has caught 62 balls for 769 yards and four touchdowns this fall, leading Vandy in the first two categories. He has paced the team in receptions on six occasions and receiving yards four times while posting the most total yards by a tight end in the country this season. The Denton, Texas, native had a career-high 146 yards at No. 20/19 Texas and followed that with a career-best 12 catches in a win over Auburn the first two weeks of the final month of the regular season.
The runner-up for the Heisman Trophy, Pavia has completed 242-of-340 passes for 3,192 yards and 27 touchdowns and also run for 826 yards and nine scores this fall. He is among the top 10 in the country in total offense (334.8 yards per game), yards per pass attempt (9.39), passing efficiency (171.5 rating), completion percentage (71.2%), touchdown passes and points responsible for (18.2 per game). The Albuquerque, New Mexico, resident threw for over 300 yards and ran for more than 100 in the Auburn victory and also passed for more than 250 yards and rushed for over 150 in a defeat of No. 18/18 Tennessee in the regular season finale.
The pair were named first-team All-SEC as well last week.
Stowers, Pavia and the Commodores will conclude the campaign against Iowa in the ReliaQuest Bowl on Dec. 31. The contest will get underway at 11 a.m. CT on ESPN.
