NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A pair of Vanderbilt football student-athletes are up for the award presented to most outstanding player in the country with the announcement Monday that both Diego Pavia and Eli Stowers on are the Walter Camp Player of the Year Award Watch List.
It’s the second preseason watch list that the former has been named to—he is also a candidate for the Maxwell Award—while the latter has been named a preseason first-team All-American by three different organizations.
Pavia was voted the SEC Newcomer of the Year last season, and was also named the national Newcomer of the Year as well as second-team all-league by the Associated Press, after accounting for 3,094 yards of total offense and 28 touchdowns in his first campaign as a Dore. The Albuquerque, New Mexico, resident threw for 2,293 yards and 20 scores after completing 177-of-298 attempts, while he led Vandy with 801 yards and eight scores on the ground as well.
Stowers paced the squad with 49 receptions for 638 yards and five touchdowns in his debut season with the Commodores to be named third-team All-America by Phil Steele and also first-team All-SEC. Not only did the Denton, Texas, native post six catches for 113 yards in a win over No. 1 Alabama, he recorded 100-plus receiving yards in games against Ball State and Georgia State while leading the team in receptions in six contests.
Their efforts helped Vandy post its first winning record and bowl victory since 2013 last fall, highlighted by the program’s first-ever win over the top-ranked team in the country after the Dores defeated the Crimson Tide, 40-35, on Oct. 5.
Pavia, Stowers and the Commodores will begin the season against Charleston Southern on Aug. 30, with kickoff at FirstBank Stadium scheduled for 6 p.m. Options including season tickets, mini-plans and single-game tickets are all available for the 2025 campaign, individuals can click here for more information on each.