For lifelong Vanderbilt fan Nate Bargatze, the Commodores have always been more than a football program. They were family, food, and weekend rituals in Nashville. But meeting former Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia changed something deeper. Pavia wasn’t just a player on a screen; he was the kind of guy who remembers your name, listens as if it matters, and never plays the star. To Bargatze, that’s what made the line feel so real.

Bargatze has met plenty of big names on stages, talk shows, and green rooms. But his praise for Pavia felt different because it didn’t come from a red carpet or a promo reel. It came after a quiet, real conversation—about family, pressure, and what it means to be someone people actually like, not just someone they cheer. That’s when the line “the best person I’ve ever met” on Instagram landed not as a joke, but as a genuine confession.

Nate Bargatze indeed had a chance to know about Vanderbilt football even before becoming known as a comedian. Being a native of Nashville, Nate Bargatze was a big fan of the Commodores football. He used to watch football games as a child thanks to his second cousin, Ronnie Bargatze, who coached and did the commentary at Vanderbilt for decades.

Nate Bargatze and Diego were responsible for convincing Jared Curtis to commit to Vanderbilt University. During the visit by ESPN’s College Game Day show to Vanderbilt for their game against Missouri last year, Nate Bargatze was the guest picker and took advantage of the national exposure to publicly cheer for Vanderbilt’s future. At that point in time, highly rated prospect Jared Curtis had not yet decided which school he wanted to commit to: Georgia or Vanderbilt.

Pavia also helped recruit Jared Curtis, and Curtis said he was supportive on the phone and in person. “Diego and I talked on the phone a lot,” Curtis said. “He was really supportive and helpful.”

Curtis secured a cameo role in comedian Nate Bargatze’s upcoming family comedy, The Breadwinner, as reported by Outkick founder Clay Travis. In this movie, Curtis has a brief appearance as a customer shopping for a car while wearing a Vandy baseball cap.

While Diego Pavia has been a helping hand for Curtis and earned praise as a genuinely good human being off the field, none of that was enough to convince NFL teams to take a chance on him in the draft. “F**k the voters.” Just three words, spoken in frustration after losing out on the Heisman Trophy, suddenly became part of the conversation surrounding his maturity, composure, and draft image.

Diego Pavia and his NFL saga

Diego Pavia and his camp arrived at his draft party filled with optimism, placing all 32 NFL team hats on a table with the expectation that he would eventually pick one up after hearing his name called on Saturday. The setup reflected the confidence within Pavia’s circle and their belief that his long-awaited NFL moment was within reach.

But as the hours passed, anticipation slowly turned into tension. Morning faded into afternoon, and afternoon slipped into evening, while the room grew increasingly restless with every passing pick. What began as a celebration of possibility gradually transformed into an emotional wait filled with uncertainty and disappointment.

“The Heisman Trophy runner-up transformed two football programs, New Mexico State and Vanderbilt, and may have changed the trajectory of SEC cellar-dweller Vanderbilt, which is recruiting like never before, thanks in part to the Pavia Effect,” CBS Sports’ Brandon Marcello wrote.

“He threw for 5,832 yards and ran for another 1,663 across two seasons at Vanderbilt, garnering SEC Player of the Year and Johnny Unitas Golden Arm awards in 2025,” he added.

Diego Pavia capped off his final season at Vanderbilt by leading the Commodores to a historic 10-3 record, the best mark in program history. The quarterback threw for 3,529 yards, 29 touchdowns, and just eight interceptions, orchestrating a remarkable turnaround only two years after Vanderbilt stumbled to a 2-10 season that forced the program to completely revamp its coaching staff.

Pavia’s breakout campaign pushed him firmly into the Heisman Trophy conversation and transformed him into one of college football’s biggest stories. Yet despite the production, the wins, and the national attention, draft weekend delivered a harsh reality. Pavia became one of the rare Heisman finalists to go undrafted.