NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Vanderbilt’s Diego Pavia is a Top Five finalist for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award® it was announced Friday by the Golden Arm Educational Foundation.
The winner of the honor will be announced in the coming weeks and be presented the award at the annual Golden Arm Award ceremony in Baltimore on Dec. 12.
The graduate quarterback from Albuquerque, New Mexico, is also a semifinalist for the Walter Camp Player of the Year, Maxwell and Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Awards this fall. He has accounted for 3,053 yards of total offense and 28 touchdowns in helping lead Vandy to an 8-2 overall record and its highest ranking in the Associated Press poll since the 1937 campaign. His efforts have contributed to the Commodores currently standing No. 14 in the most recent College Football Playoff rankings.
Entering Saturday’s Senior Day game against Kentucky—kickoff is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. at FirstBank Stadium—Pavia has completed 191-of-273 passes for 2,440 yards and 21 touchdowns while rushing for 613 yards and an additional seven scores in 2025. He leads the SEC and is fifth in the country with a 166.8 pass efficiency rating and also tops the conference with 170 points he’s been responsible for, stands second in the league and 11th nationally with a 70.0 percent completion rate and is among the top five in the SEC in passing touchdowns, passing yards and total offense per game.
The Heisman Trophy candidate has become the first individual at Vanderbilt to post 3,000-plus yards of total offense in more than one season this fall, while in the Dores’ most recent contest—a 45-38 overtime victory over Auburn—he became the first member of the program to ever record more than 300 passing yards and 100 rushing yards in a game.
For his efforts in that contest, Pavia was selected the Associated Press National and Walter Camp National FBS Offensive Player of the Week. He’s twice been chosen the SEC Offensive Player of the Week, and has been named to the Davey O’Brien Award Great 8 and a Manning Award Star of the Week on three occasions this season as well.
