Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia finished second in Heisman Trophy voting to Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza.
That, of course, is quite an accomplishment.
But Pavia apparently felt otherwise. After the results were announced Saturday in New York, the 23-year-old senior posted a photo of himself with his offensive linemen on his Instagram Stories and gave it a profane caption.
“F-ALL THE VOTERS,” Pavia wrote, followed by a thumbs-down emoji, “BUT ….. FAMILY FOR LIFE”
On Sunday night, Pavia posted a lengthy apology on X.
“Being a part of the Heisman ceremony last night as a finalist was such an honor,” he wrote. “As a competitor, just like in everything I do I wanted to win. To be so close to my dream and come up short was painful. I didn’t handle those emotions well at all and did not represent myself the way I wanted to.
“I have much love and respect for the Heisman voters and the selection process, and I apologize for being disrespectful. It was a mistake, and I am sorry.”
Heisman Trophy finalists, from left to right, Notre Dame‘s Jeremiah Love, Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza, Vanderbilt’s Diego Pavia and Ohio State’s Julian Sayin pose with the trophy before the award ceremony Dec. 13 in New York.
(Eduardo Munoz Alvarez / Associated Press)
Mendoza received 643 first-place votes and 2,362 overall points to Pavia’s 189 first-place votes and 1,435 points. Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love finished third in voting (46 first place, 719 points), and Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin was fourth (eight first place, 432 points).
Indiana (13-0) is the top team in the College Football Playoff rankings and will play the Oklahoma-Alabama winner in the Rose Bowl. Mendoza has played a large role in the Hoosiers’ success. He completed 71.5% of his passes for 2,980 yards with a national-best 33 touchdown passes and six interceptions. In addition, Mendoza rushed for 240 yards and six touchdowns.
“Fernando Mendoza is an elite competitor and a deserving winner of the award,” Pavia wrote. “I have nothing but respect for his accomplishments as well as the success that Jeremiyah and Julian had this season.”
Pavia also put up huge numbers for Vanderbilt (10-2), which was No. 14 in the final CFP ranking and will play Iowa in the ReliaQuest Bowl on Jan. 1. He completed 71.2% of his passes for 3,192 yards with 27 touchdowns and eight interceptions and rushed for 826 yards and nine touchdowns.
A former walk-on at New Mexico Military Institute, Pavia played two years at New Mexico State before transferring to Vanderbilt in 2024. Leading up to the Heisman ceremony, Pavia declared himself the best college football player of all time. He recently told Sports Illustrated, however, that his self-confidence should not be mistaken for arrogance.
“As an underdog paying to walk on to JUCO, you kind of have to be your own cheerleader,” Pavia said. “And it just never left my head, to be like ‘Oh I arrived, I don’t need to do that anymore.’”
Pavia reflected on his past in his apology post.
“I’ve been doubted my whole life. Every step of my journey I’ve had to break down doors and fight for myself, because Ive learned that nothing would be handed to me,” he wrote. “My family has always been in my corner, and my teammates, coaches and staff have my six. I love them — I am grateful for them. — and I wouldn’t want anything to distract from that. I look forward to competing in front of my family and with my team one more time in the ReliaQuest Bowl.”
