Diego Pavia has always found a way through. He turned a wrestling scholarship, bet on JUCO football at New Mexico Military Institute, and won a national title. He then transferred to New Mexico State and won 10 games in his second year there. After transferring to Vanderbilt in 2024, he won 10 more in 2025 and finished as the Heisman runner-up. Every time a program doubted him, he moved on and proved the point elsewhere. But at the 2026 NFL Draft in Pittsburgh, all 32 teams said no, and there was no transfer portal for that.

Shortly after the draft ended, a screenshot shared by Shane Tuttle began circulating on X showing what appeared to be a post from Pavia’s Instagram story that had an expletive-filled dig at the NFL: “F**k the @nfl, I write my own path.”

But the post, if real, has since been deleted. At the time of writing, no major outlet has independently confirmed that it originated from Pavia’s account, and the screenshots have not been verified by legitimate sources either. It could be real or fabricated. What is confirmed is that the screenshot spread fast and that Pavia has said nothing publicly to address it.

Diego’s anger seems justified (again, if the story is legit) as he became the first-ever Heisman finalist to go undrafted since Northern Illinois quarterback Jordan Lynch in 2014. If one were to look at Diego’s stats from the last four years—two with New Mexico State and Vanderbilt each—no NFL team calling his name at the recent draft raises some serious questions.

Diego Pavia totaled 10,255 yards passing, 3,094 yards rushing, and 119 total touchdowns in four years. And his production during his senior season with the Commodores was especially impressive. The QB led the SEC in completion percentage (70.6%), passing touchdowns (29), and yards per attempt (9.4). Additionally, the QB also totaled 4,402 yards, which led all Power Four players.

Currently, Diego Pavia has not yet received any free-agent contracts or minicamp invites from any of the 32 NFL teams.

In sports analyst Pat McAfee’s words, “I think a lot of what made him fantastic for College was also gonna be what held him back as an NFL ‘prospect’. Size, speed, style of play, personality.”

What McAfee referred to was Pavia’s height, which measures at 5-foot-10 and 1/8 inches, considered an exceptionally small frame for an NFL QB prospect. One look at the QB’s Senior Bowl report reveals that he was listed an inch shorter there at 5-9 ⅞, making him even smaller than Bryce Young (5-foot-10 inches) and Kyler Murray (5 feet 10⅛ inches).

Additionally, the sports analyst highlighted Diego’s style of play, as he never followed a structure and instead relied on buying time with his legs to create opportunities downfield.

Whether Diego posted the story or not, the sentiment fits a documented pattern. After finishing second to Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza at the Heisman Trophy ceremony in December, Pavia posted: “F*** ALL THE VOTERS” on Instagram and turned up at a New York club next to a sign reading “F*** Indiana.”

The next day, he walked it back on social media with an apology.

“I have much love and respect for the Heisman voters and the selection process, and I apologize for being disrespectful.”

But those questions stayed with him heading into the NFL pre-draft interviews. When he was asked about that incident at the NFL Scouting Combine, he pointed to something his college coach, Clark Lea, had told him about his development.

“Yeah, [Vanderbilt] coach Lea always preached that your frontal lobe isn’t fully developed until you’re 25,” Diego Pavia had said. “I just turned 24, so I got like 360 more days to go.”

Pavia’s Instagram bio, at the time of writing this, reads: “Quarterback-…? Practice?-Allen Iverson.” The ellipsis is doing a lot of work there. He knows how he’s perceived, and he’s leaning into it. The NFL gave him its answer; the real question now is which stage actually fits his profile.

Deigo’s “Pavia show” isn’t over yet

The NFL’s version of a quarterback requires height, arm strength, and the ability to drive the ball into tight windows against powerful defenders playing coverage. Pavia’s entire college career – as Pat McAfee pointed out – was built on something different: mobility to buy time. While that doesn’t fit with the NFL, he could do very well in the Spring League.

“If it doesn’t work out.. is he not the UFL QB Blueprint?” Pat McAfee asked on X before making the case for Pavia. “Recognizable name.. can move.. not scared to promote. UFL’s getting 800,00 viewers a game, which is good for spring ball, can bump that a bit with some name brands aht there… I think we all assume the clips, regardless of outcome, would go for a bit. Feels like an opportune time for the UFL.. and for the Pavia show.”

McAfee’s point is about more than a roster spot. Spring football’s core problem is that casual fans don’t tune in for players they’ve never heard of. But Pavia isn’t that. He has 106K followers on Instagram, did a backflip at the NFL Combine, and once drew an unsportsmanlike conduct flag for tossing a ball into the stands at a fan who was taunting him. That’s the ‘Pavia show’ McAfee refers to. The UFL doesn’t need him to be an NFL-caliber quarterback. It just needs him to be a reason for fans to turn the game on.

The argument against the UFL is that it signals you’ve given up on the NFL. But given where Pavia stands – undrafted, agentless, and 24 – that argument has less weight than it sounds. A UDFA camp invite might still be possible, but a roster spot might not. The UFL, by contrast, is a league where he walks in as the most recognizable player on the field, makes calculated plays, and adds spectacles and headlines, doing everything ‘the Pavia show’ does.

The bio still says “Quarterback-…?” He already knows what the NFL filled in after that dash. Now, the UFL might be the only place left that gives him a different answer.