Oct. 6—If only.
Novels have been launched on those words, political races toppled by them, dynasties built upon them.
If only.
The University of New Mexico has had its fair share of if-only moments over the years, the most egregious of which has come to define the failed tenure of Danny Gonzales as its football coach.
Fired last December after four disappointing years amid the chaos of budget restraints, COVID-19, the advent of the transfer portal and NIL, plus the shifting sands of conference realignment, Gonzales’ failure as Lobos coach was again thrust into the spotlight Saturday, when Vanderbilt upset No. 1 Alabama in Nashville, Tenn.
As Commodores fans carried the dismembered goal posts out of FirstBank Stadium and threw them into the Cumberland River three miles away, anyone with a sports heartbeat felt the pain of “if only” when it comes to Lobos football.
Vandy quarterback Diego Pavia is from New Mexico. We all know that.
A Volcano Vista graduate, his celebrated college career has been a yellow brick road of success — the kind that will make a great Disney movie some day, if not a compelling 30 for 30. Ask him, and he’ll tell you all about the hopes and dreams he had as a kid and the motivation that has allowed him to plow his way forward as an adult.
During the chaos of the postgame celebration Saturday, an SEC Network reporter grabbed Pavia amid the mosh pit of fans storming the field. Surrounded by 72 friends and family from the 5-0-5 — at least one of whom flashed a New Mexico flag during the game — he dropped in a few not-for-TV cuss words in a live interview that highlighted his electric personality and made the kind of hometown hero a New Mexico sports fan can love.
If only.
If only he’d been a Lobo.
During the fourth quarter as Pavia drove the ‘Dors on their final touchdown drive, the announcers gave a Cliffs Notes version of his journey. Lightly recruited out of Volcano, he grew up dreaming of wearing the cherry and silver and running onto the University Stadium turf representing UNM.
Gonzales was hired during Pavia’s senior year and immediately had a choice of taking the higher-profile Isaiah Chavez out of Rio Rancho or getting Pavia, a lesser-known commodity with far less star potential from a district rival. At the time, it seemed like the right move; Chavez was the state’s Gatorade Player of the Year after passing for 2,000 yards and rushing for 1,400, while Pavia was more of a wrestler who happened to play a little football.
Too bad you can’t measure what’s inside. The heart that beats in Pavia’s chest is a machine that doesn’t show up on a recruiting chart. It drives him in ways that can’t be measured.
Shunned into the junior college route at New Mexico Military Academy, all he did was win the starting job as a freshman and lead the Broncos to the JUCO national championship as a sophomore. Surely that would get him a spot on Gonzales’ radar.
It didn’t. In need of a QB1, Gonzales instead turned to Kansas transfer Miles Kendrick in 2022. Pavia had a walk-on offer to Texas Tech but instead went to New Mexico State and did the impossible: He turned the Aggies into a winner, leading them to two straight bowl appearances, an upset of Auburn, double-digit wins as a senior and, as Lobo fans know all too well, a pair of wins over UNM.
Along the way, he may or may not have relieved himself on the Lobos’ indoor practice field while someone recorded it, after which UNM unsuccessfully tried to retaliate by attempting to not let the Aggies use the facility in the build-up to last year’s New Mexico Bowl.
Chavez is still a Lobo but has only made cameo appearances the last few years. Kendrick won two games as a starter before getting hurt and ending his college career the same year Pavia led NMSU to a bowl win. Pavia has since become a Vandy team captain and a bona fide star in the toughest conference in America.
Gonzales admitted it was a mistake not recruiting Pavia. Both times.
He has never been more right about anything in his coaching career. Pavia isn’t the fish that got away (twice), he’s the fish Gonzales ignored so he could reel in a tadpole.
It was a mistake that led to Gonzales’s failure. It was certainly the rocket fuel that pushed a remarkable talent like Pavia to otherworldly heights. He made it his mission to kick sand in UNM’s face, a thing he continues to do over and over, even from Tennessee. Saturday’s triumph of mighty Alabama was but the latest in a long line of reminders of what could have been.
A career with Pavia might have made him a Lobos legend, the likes of which would have seen his name plastered on the facade of the press box alongside the other UNM greats.
It may have also saved Gonzales’ job, maybe even helped the Lobos catch the eye of the Pac-12 and gotten them a spot at the big kids table when things started shifting a few weeks ago.
If only.
Will Webber is the sports editor for The New Mexican and his commentary piece runs from time to time in this section. To reach him, send an email to wwebber@sfnewmexican.com.
