Diego Pavia Jokes His Brain Hasn't Fully Developed, Talks Maturity Concerns at NFL Combine

Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia offered a humorous response Friday when asked about NFL teams potentially having concerns about his maturity.

Speaking to reporters at the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, Pavia said, "[Vanderbilt] Coach [Clark] Lea always pressed that your frontal lobe isn't fully developed til you're 25, and I just turned 24. ... So I've got like 365 days to go."

Known for his big personality in addition to his exciting style of quarterback play, Pavia has often been compared to former Texas A&M and NFL quarterback Johnny Manziel, who has become a mentor of sorts for the 2026 NFL draft hopeful.

Manziel was a Heisman Trophy winner and first-round pick of the Cleveland Browns, but his NFL career fizzled out after just two seasons due to poor play and off-field issues, so Pavia won't want to follow in Johnny Football's footsteps in that regard.

"One thing about me is I don't care what people think about me," Pavia told reporters Friday.

It remains to be seen where Pavia will be drafted or if he will even get picked at all, but the fact that he has even gotten to this point is an accomplishment in itself.

Pavia began his college career at the New Mexico Military Institute before making the move to New Mexico State and finally Vanderbilt.

His last collegiate season was his best, as he completed 70.6 percent of his passes for 3,539 yards, 29 touchdowns and eight interceptions, while also rushing for 862 yards and 10 scores en route to a second-place finish in the Heisman Trophy voting.

Despite that success, Pavia is not widely viewed as one of the top quarterbacks in the 2026 NFL draft, and much of that is likely due to his size.

NFL.com lists Pavia at just 5'9" and 198 pounds, meaning the odds are against him when it comes to carving out a long and productive NFL career.

While talking to reporters Friday, Pavia admitted that he has a chip on his shoulder because of the adversity he has faced, and he plans on taking it with him into the NFL:

A strong performance at the combine could potentially go a long way toward solidifying Pavia as a Day 3 draft pick at the very least, but he isn't planning to do a ton of on-field work.

Pavia told reporters that while he will throw at the combine on Saturday, he will save the rest of his testing for the Vanderbilt pro day:

All signs point toward Indiana's Fernando Mendoza and Alabama's Ty Simpson being the first two quarterbacks off the board in the draft, but there are big opportunities available behind them.

No other quarterback is firmly established as No. 3, meaning Pavia or any number of other quarterbacks could potentially put themselves in that spot.

Pavia's body of work at Vandy speaks for itself, but impressing NFL teams with his throwing and interviews is the next step in terms of cementing his stock.