NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Vanderbilt football’s Diego Pavia was named a finalist for the 2025 Heisman Trophy it was announced Monday night, making the graduate quarterback the first Commodore ever to be invited to participate in the annual ceremony.
The Heisman Trophy winner will be revealed live on ABC during a nationally televised ceremony held at the Lincoln Center in New York City that begins at 6 p.m. CT on Saturday.
Pavia has already received the 2025 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award®, and he is also a finalist for the Walter Camp Player of the Year and Manning Awards. A three-time SEC Offensive Player of the Week selection while helping lead Vandy to a 10-2 mark this fall, he has also claimed national player of the week accolades from both Walter Camp and the Associated Press on multiple occasions.
Entering postseason play, Pavia stands second nationally in total offense (334.8 yards per game), is third with an average of 9.39 yards per pass attempt and ranks fourth with a 171.5 pass efficiency rating. Along with pacing the SEC in each of those categories, the Albuquerque, New Mexico, native also tops the league and is among the top 10 in the country in touchdown passes (27) and completion percentage (71.2 percent).
In addition to throwing for 3,192 yards while completing 242-of-340 passes, Pavia leads the Dores with 826 rushing yards and has added nine scores on the ground. He became the first Vandy player ever to record 300-plus passing yards and more than 100 rushing yards in a game when he finished with 377 and 112, respectively, in a win over Auburn, and in the Dores’ final regular season contest he became the first individual in the SEC since Jayden Daniels in 2023 to post over 250 passing yards and 150 rushing yards in an outing after accomplishing the feat in a victory at No. 18/18 Tennessee.
Not only has Pavia set school season records for passing yards, touchdowns passing and total offense, he is the first member of the program ever to have 3,000 or more yards of total offense in multiple campaigns.
Pavia’s efforts have helped Vandy secure a berth in the ReliaQuest Bowl, where the Commodores will take on Iowa on Dec. 31 at 11 a.m. CT.
