Vanderbilt graduate quarterback Diego Pavia believes he belongs in the Heisman Trophy conversation.

“Hell yeah,” he said when asked if he should be in the running. “I believe it.”

And according to the newest odds, he could very well end up in New York come December.

If you had told any college football fan 10 years ago that a Vanderbilt quarterback would be a Heisman contender, or that the Commodores would be 7-1 in October and in the College Football Playoff hunt, no one would have believed it.

Welcome to the new era of college football, where name, image and likeness money gives players more leverage and a louder voice. Pavia has used both, though not without controversy.

He became an overnight sensation after Vanderbilt stunned then-No. 1 Alabama last season, which became the Commodores’ first-ever win over an AP top-five team. The upset sparked a firestorm of national attention from the media, and a wave of NIL deals followed. 

The zero-star recruit from Albuquerque, New Mexico, was suddenly one of the most recognizable faces in college football. 

Pavia’s path to stardom was anything but traditional. Coming out of high school with zero Division I offers, he started at New Mexico Military Institute, leading the junior college to a national championship in his second year. 

He then transferred to New Mexico State, where he played two seasons. Pavia led the Aggies to a pair of bowl games before entering the transfer portal in December 2023.

He initially committed to Nevada, but when his New Mexico State coaches, Jerry Kill and Tim Beck, were hired by Vanderbilt, Pavia followed them to Nashville instead. 

The rest is history. 

Pavia has transformed Vanderbilt from a meddling Southeastern Conference team into a legitimate national contender. 

The school has now launched a Heisman campaign for him, complete with the hashtag #2Turnt printed on hats worn by Vanderbilt players.

This season, Pavia has thrown for 1,698 yards, 15 touchdowns and five interceptions — not quite Heisman-caliber stats, especially for a player who hit the Heisman pose after beating a dwindling LSU team. 

Critics claim he is overrated — that if a starting quarterback for a top-five school performed like Pavia, no one would look twice. Some also say that he craves the spotlight and carries himself with a touch of arrogance.

Nevertheless, he’s got people talking about him and has also drawn attention to his actions off the field. After last season, he sued the NCAA, arguing its rule counting his junior college seasons toward his Division I eligibility violated his right to profit from NIL.

A federal judge granted a preliminary injunction that allowed him to play as the case moved forward. The NCAA appealed, but the appellate court dismissed the case as moot on Oct. 1. 

Later this month, Pavia’s attorney announced plans to expand the lawsuit into a proposed class action aimed at permanently striking down the rule.

Love him or hate him, Pavia is helping to reshape the sport, and his story reflects the ever-changing landscape of college football.