NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Vanderbilt graduate student Diego Pavia was named to the Manning Award Watch List Thursday and is now a candidate for the honor recognizing the top quarterback in the country at the conclusion of all postseason bowls.
It’s the fourth watch list that Pavia has been placed on this summer, as he is also up for the Walter Camp and Maxwell Player of the Year Awards as well as the Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award.
The reigning SEC Newcomer of the Year, Pavia threw for 2,293 yards and 20 scores—completing 177-of-298 attempts—while rushing for another 801 yards and eight touchdowns in 2024. He accounted for 294 yards of total offense and three scores in his Commodore debut to help lead the team to a season-opening overtime win over Virginia Tech, also totaling 308 yards and a pair of passing touchdowns in a defeat of top-ranked Alabama later in the fall as he earned SEC Offensive Player-of-the-Week honors following both contests.
Pavia was also selected the Most Valuable Player of the Birmingham Bowl after throwing for 160 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for 85 yards and two scores as Vandy beat Georgia Tech. On the season, the Albuquerque, New Mexico, native had multiple passing touchdowns in eight games and completed at least 60 percent of his attempts in six contests, and he led the Dores in rushing on seven occasions as well.
The Commodores will play seven games at home this fall beginning with a 6 p.m. kickoff at FirstBank Stadium on Aug. 30 when Charleston Southern visits. Season tickets, mini-plans and single-game tickets can still be purchased for the upcoming season, with further information on each option available here.