Is Diego Pavia a 2025 NFL Draft prospect? What Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea said

Diego Pavia doesn't have the prototypical tools for an NFL quarterback.

He's listed at six feet tall but may be shorter. He doesn't have eye-popping arm strength or speed. But at the college level, all he's done is win football games. In 2024 at Vanderbilt , Pavia has 1,116 passing yards and 523 rushing yards, with 10 passing touchdowns and two rushing touchdowns to only two turnovers.

His bulldog mentality on the field has garnered a lot of attention as his sheer will has landed the Commodores (4-2) an upset victory over Alabama and another win against Kentucky entering a matchup with Ball State (2-4) on Saturday (6 p.m. CT, SEC Network+).

While you won't find Pavia on any 2025 NFL Draft boards, his coach Clark Lea believes he's fully capable of playing at the next level.

"I'll let the head coaches and scouts and general managers do their evaluation," Lea said Thursday. "All I can say is that he's efficient with the ball. He knows how to find the the matchups. He's a football smart guy. So again, it's not just about simple reads. He sees the full field.

"And I don't know a coach in the world that wouldn't want that mentality and that competitive makeup in their locker room, no matter the sport. So I'm excited for him to finish out the season the way I know he can, and then really excited to help push him for that opportunity."

The Commodores have not had a player drafted in three years under Lea.

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Aria Gerson covers Vanderbilt athletics for The Tennessean. Contact her at agerson@gannett.com or on X, formerly Twitter, @aria_gerson .

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Is Diego Pavia a 2025 NFL Draft prospect? What Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea said