Diego Pavia stopped by Vanderbilt football's first preseason practice Aug. 5 after being cut by the Baltimore Ravens.
Pavia, who was the Heisman runner-up in 2025, was waived by the Ravens in July just before the start of their training camp and has not yet signed with another team.
"It's great to have him back," offensive coordinator Tim Beck said. "I still wish he was playing for someone right now, and I know he does too. But it's exciting for just to have him back, and you just feel his aura on the field when he's around our players. So I appreciate him being here."
Last season, Pavia had 3,539 passing yards, 862 rushing yards, 29 passing touchdowns and 10 rushing touchdowns. In addition to being the Heisman runner-up, he was the SEC Offensive
Player of the Year and set a program record for single-game passing yards.
Now, Vanderbilt has a quarterback battle between returner Blaze Berlowitz, who has backed up Pavia for three seasons between New Mexico State and the Commodores, and 5-star freshman Jared Curtis.
"We won't replicate Diego," coach Clark Lea said July 21. "He's unique in so many ways. I could take just a moment to talk about how grateful I am to have coached him, to have had him be a part of our program for two years, and to pivot and say, there are a lot of guys that have been working in the shadows, doing all the little things that leaders do, that haven't had the spotlight turned on, and now it's their turn."
Aria Gerson covers Vanderbilt athletics for The Tennessean. Contact her at agerson@gannett.com or on X @aria_gerson.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: What Vanderbilt football said about Diego Pavia attending preseason practice
