Not everyone gets their happy ending. After becoming the face of Vanderbilt football, fighting for an extra year of eligibility, and becoming a pioneer for all JUCO players, Pavia still went undrafted. What hurts even more is that his undrafted status is making draft history, but for all the wrong reasons.

Even though Pavia finished as the 2025 Heisman Trophy runner-up and took his team to a 10-win season, no team picked him in the draft. He becomes the first Heisman finalist since 2013 to go undrafted and the first runner-up since 2003 to not be selected. One big reason was his size. At the Senior Bowl, he measured just under 5-foot-10 and weighed 198 pounds, which makes it difficult to look over his own offensive linemen during pass plays.

But history has shown short quarterbacks can achieve success. Russel Wilson’s famous moon ball stands in defiance to the claim that all signal callers must be tall. The former Seahawks QB played well enough to get them a Super Bowl. Its not just Russel though. Kyler Murray and Bryce Young are both active starters with their respective teams in the NFL. So it is not impossible.

And it’s not like Diego Pavia has not displayed his skills. He has built his career as an underdog by proving people wrong. Even at the very beginning, as he started at a junior college in New Mexico, instead of a bigger program.

Then he moved to New Mexico State, where he helped his team pull off a surprise win over Auburn in 2023. After that, he transferred to Vanderbilt and kept improving. At Vanderbilt, he helped the team go 7-6 in 2024 and win the Birmingham Bowl. In 2025, he led Vanderbilt to its best season ever, with 10 wins.

Even his production was solid as he threw for 3,539 yards and 29 touchdowns. He also ran for 862 yards and 10 touchdowns. One of his biggest success stories was Vanderbilt’s win against Alabama after 40 long years. Before Pavia joined the team, no one would have ever thought of making this happen.

Scouts heavily compared Pavia to Heisman winner Fernando Mendoza (who went #1 overall to the Raiders). While Mendoza was seen as a prototypical “leader of men,” critics pointed to Pavia’s more polarizing personality and “ego-driven” style as potential locker room concerns.

Pavia also did not have an agent during the draft process. This is uncommon, especially for a well-known player like him. It may have made it harder for him and the teams to communicate clearly before the draft.

His draft stock may have taken a hit after the 2025 Heisman ceremony, where he posted a photo with the caption “F- ALL THE VOTERS” on Instagram. Although he later apologized, the “baggage” reportedly weighed on NFL evaluators.

However, it’s not like Diego Pavia’s NFL career is finished. There is one team that might still be interested in him.

What’s next for Diego Pavia?

Some teams, like the Carolina Panthers, are interested in adding a quarterback as an undrafted free agent. Interestingly, Diego Pavia is visiting the Carolina Panthers, which suggests the team wants to take a closer look at him. The Panthers already have Bryce Young as their starting quarterback. He also faced doubts about his size when he entered the league, just like Pavia.

Because of this, the team may feel Pavia could fit their style, since they care more about things like accuracy, smart decisions, and staying calm under pressure rather than just physical size.

The team has also added Kenny Pickett as a backup quarterback. So, they are not looking for a new starter. Their main goal is to build depth and have more options. Pavia’s visit does not mean he will definitely be signed, but they might keep him in the program for situations like a QB injury or other unforeseen circumstances.

But even if Pavia does not get a chance in the NFL, he still has another option. He can go play in the Canadian Football League (CFL). This way, his progress will not be stopped, and he can still make an impact on the field. This path is similar to the one taken by Warren Moon. When he didn’t get a good chance in the NFL at first, he went to play in the CFL instead.

In the CFL, he played really well and won 5 championships, which showed how good he was. After proving himself there, he got another chance in the NFL and became a star performer. So, there’s a chance that this kind of success is waiting for Diego Pavia, too.