When Diego Pavia first came to Vanderbilt football this summer, he played his highlights on the screen for his new teammates. Several of those highlights came from New Mexico State’s win over Auburn last season.
Some recruits were in town, and according to Cole Spence, normally recruits’ highlights would be shown on the projector. But with the recruits running late, it was Pavia who put his own highlights up on the board.
The Nov. 18, 2023 game that resulted in a 31-10 Aggies win at Jordan-Hare Stadium was in large part due to Pavia, who threw for 201 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 35 yards. Fellow New Mexico State transfers Eli Stowers and Moni Jones also played in the game.
To members of Vanderbilt’s coaching staff, the moment that stands out the most from that game was when Pavia slammed an Auburn defender to the ground after an interception that was called back due to an offsides penalty.
“Before I knew Diego, when I saw him throw an interception early and he suplexed the linebacker on the sideline, that was a play that always stood out to me with respect to the toughness of the team that I was watching,” Clark Lea said Tuesday ahead of Vanderbilt’s matchup with Auburn (3-5, 1-4 SEC) this weekend.
The Commodores (5-3, 2-2) have never won at Jordan-Hare Stadium despite a 21-22-1 record against the Tigers overall. Vanderbilt hopes to change that with Pavia, who has led Vanderbilt to an upset over Alabama already this season.
Auburn football coach Hugh Freeze certainly remembers. During Freeze’s press conference on Monday, he told reporters: “I’m sick of seeing that quarterback, I’ve had enough of him.”
Freeze also lost to Pavia’s Aggies when he was the head coach at Liberty in 2022.
When Pavia first showed his highlights, safety CJ Taylor said he told Pavia, “Bro, I’m not watching that.” The first play Pavia showed was his body-slam.
“That game was Diego,” Taylor said. “We all know who he is as a competitor and his quarterback.”
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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: Diego Pavia beat Auburn at New Mexico State, now he’s at Vanderbilt
