Vanderbilt’s Diego Pavia shares pie-in-the-sky comparison to former Heisman winner

Vanderbilt’s Diego Pavia believes he’s comparable to the cultural phenomenon that was Johnny Manziel at Texas A&M.

“It was through the grapevine. So I just had to show them what I do,” Pavia said on SEC Network’s Out of Pocket . “I feel like I’m more of a comparison to Johnny Football. That’s who I am.”

The New Mexico State transfer QB completed 12-of-16 passes, 294 all-purpose yards, and three total touchdowns during his Commodores debut; a 34-27 overtime win over Virginia Tech in Week 1.

Impressive, yes. At the level of Johnny Manziel? Who had four games with under 200 passing yards in two years and won the Heisman trophy as a true freshman? That seems a bit excessive.

On a more grounded note, Pavia complimented the Vanderbilt coaching staff – particularly, Commodores offensive coordinator Tim Beck and chief consultant to the head coach and senior offensive advisor Jerry Kill, Pavia’s head coach at New Mexico State – for bringing him to Nashville.

“I feel like I knew who I could be from the start,” Pavia said. “It’s a compliment to coach Beck and coach Kill trusting me to recruit me like out of the portal. People wanted me, but it was never Power Five, and I just feel like I’m the best player in the country, and I’m here to show it. That’s what I want to do, week in, week out, whatever it takes to win. And that’s my mentality every single week that I step on the field.”

Pavia is setting a high bar for the rest of the season and provided some brutal meme material to opposing teams if he has a bad game.

You just know college football fans will want to compare him to NFL Manziel after a loss.