Just as the dust was settling on Diego Pavia’s Heisman controversy, HC Clark Lea’s quarterback room took another direct hit. Meanwhile, the NCAA transfer portal added another worry. With QB1 headed to the draft next season, Vanderbilt took another hit when backup quarterback Jérémy St-Hilaire decided to enter the transfer portal.

“Vanderbilt QB Jérémy St-Hilaire (@Jay_StHilaire12) plans to enter the portal, a source tells @247Sports,” CFB reporter Chris Hummer posted on X. “The 6-foot-4, 220-pound freshman held an 87 rating in the 2024 class. Picked Vanderbilt over interest from Penn State and Wake Forest out of HS.”

Losing St-Hilaire is a major setback for the Commodores. Pavia’s departure already leaves the QB room short on proven starters, and now losing the sophomore only thins the depth chart even more. St-Hilaire joined Vanderbilt as part of the 2024 recruiting class and came in as a long-term developmental quarterback.

The 6-4, 220-pound St-Claire, a three-star prospect originally from Montreal, was Vandy coach Clark Lea’s first commit for the 2024 class.

St-Claire ranked among the top 50 quarterback prospects in the nation, according to all the major recruiting sites. His high school tape showed plenty of upside. At McCallie School, St-Hilaire led his team to a state championship and earned MVP honors. In his junior season, he completed 67.2 percent of his passes for 2,375 yards, 25 touchdowns, and five interceptions, while also rushing for 410 yards and seven scores.

Now listed as a sophomore, he never saw game action with the Commodores in the 2024 and 2025 seasons. His move to the portal removes a valuable depth piece and future option from Vanderbilt’s quarterback room. Earlier in the month, senior Drew Dickey, who appeared in three games during his tenure with the Commodores, announced his intention to enter the transfer portal.

Vanderbilt’s quarterback room will look quite a bit different in 2026, following the departure of starter Diego Pavia and the decisions of St-Hilaire and Dickey to transfer. But Commodores fans are understandably thrilled about the potential of five-star Jared Curtis. He is ranked the No. 1 pocket passer prospect in the nation — and No. 5 overall recruit at any position in the 2026 class — by ESPN.

With help from Diego Pavia, Curtis flipped from Georgia and signed with Vanderbilt on signing day. He became the highest-rated recruit in program history. Given the recent departures, Curtis now looks like the early favorite to take over the starting role sooner than expected.

Diego Pavia continues to fall into trouble

Diego Pavia has found himself in the middle of controversy once again, and not for the right reasons. This time, it came after his very public push for the Heisman Trophy at the ceremony in New York. Pavia made it clear he badly wanted to walk away with the award, even going as far as campaigning for himself. But when the dust settled, the honor went to unbeaten Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza instead.

That didn’t sit well with Pavia at all. Not long after, he took to Instagram and went straight at the Heisman voters. “F-all the voters,” Pavia wrote on his story, along with a thumbs-down emoji, adding, “But… family for life.”

The post showed Pavia with his offensive linemen at the ceremony, but the caption quickly overshadowed the moment. As expected, the reaction was swift and loud, with plenty of backlash coming his way. ESPN’s Pat McAfee was one of the first to call out Pavia, making it clear that kind of attitude wasn’t going to slide.

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“I don’t think I’ve seen anybody have a bigger heel-turn in one weekend than Diego Pavia,” McAfee stated. “Anybody who’s flashy and talks a lot of shit is going to be hated by a group of people regardless. But then this weekend, with how it all went, I think a lot of people kind of turned on Diego Pavia.”

Thankfully, the 23-year-old was quick to understand his mistake, as apologizing was certainly the right thing to do.

“Being a part of the Heisman ceremony last night as a finalist was such an honor. As a competitor, just like in everything I do, I wanted to win,” Pavia wrote on X. “To be so close to my dream and come up short was painful. I didn’t handle those emotions well at all and did not represent myself the way I wanted to. I have much love and respect for the Heisman voters and the selection process, and I apologize for being disrespectful. It was a mistake, and I am sorry.”

Pavia also apologized to Fernando Mendoza, who totaled 2,362 points and 643 first-place votes, trailing Pavia was second with 1,435 points and 189 first-place votes.