Two years ago, entering the 2024 season, there was a lot of hype and high expectations surrounding the Virginia Tech football team. They were coming off a 2023 campaign that saw them finish strong down the stretch and saw former head coach Brent Pry get a ton of key retention in a day and age where it rarely happens with NIL and the Transfer Portal.
However, Pry was able to do it, and Virginia Tech was a darling and under-the-radar team for the new 12-team College Football Playoff. It didn't happen, and things started to head south from the opening kickoff on Labor Day Weekend against Vanderbilt in Nashville. Behind quarterback Diego Pavia, the Commodores stunned the Hokies in overtime for a season-opening upset.
Things never got better from there, and Virginia Tech needed a Thanksgiving Weekend win over Virginia for the second consecutive season just to become bowl-eligible. Little did the Hokies know that they were going to begin a two-year run for one of the more overrated quarterbacks in college football at Vanderbilt. After two seasons with the Commodores, Pavia was the runner-up for the Heisman Trophy last year, but unsurprisingly went undrafted. Shows you how weak the Heisman Trophy class was.
He was signed by the Baltimore Ravens but was recently released. Mike Kadlick of Sports Illustrated listed three potential landing spots for Pavia as NFL training camps get underway, and one would be joining a couple of former Hokies' quarterbacks.
Three landing spots for former Vanderbilt QB Diego Pavia are listed
Kadlick listed the Denver Broncos, Green Bay Packers, and Los Angeles Chargers as potential teams that would take a shot with Pavia. If it's the Packers and head coach Matt LaFleur, then he would be joining former Virginia Tech signal-callers Tyrod Taylor and Kyron Drones in camp this summer.
"Could LaFleur unlock something similar with Pavia—a raw but dynamic playmaker who could use some behind-the-scenes development? It could be worth the dice roll,'' Kadlick wrote, comparing Pavia to Malik Willis.
Here's the thing: as good a story as Pavia was at Vanderbilt, he just wasn't as good as he thinks or as the Commodores fans do. It is not surprising whatsoever that he wasn't drafted. There are a lot of behind-the-scenes issues that NFL teams just don't want to deal with. There are some cases where that stuff can be overlooked when it comes to talent, but Pavia doesn't have the talent for teams to risk taking a headache on. If he comes into Green Bay's camp, there is nothing for Taylor or Drones to be worried about.
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