Diego Pavia: Jared Curtis plans ‘to win national championship’ at Vanderbilt
INDIANAPOLIS — Former Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia wasn’t taking any credit for the Commodores winning a high-profile recruiting battle with Georgia for No. 1-ranked quarterback Jared Curtis.
But Pavia did put college football on notice where Curtis’ aspirations lie entering his freshman season this year.
“We were talking the other day, and he was like, ‘I’m going to win the national championship that you couldn’t win,’” Pavia said during his podium interview at the NFL Scouting Combine on Friday.
“Our past two years, obviously we were able to win seven games and 10 games,” said Pavia, whose dual-threat abilities enabled him to finish runner-up in the Heisman Trophy voting and to quarterback Vanderbilt to its first 10-win season.
“I hope they keep soaring through the roof, and then next year, they 12-0 and then go to the playoffs.”
The Commodores were 14th in the final College Football Playoff rankings, narrowly missing a 12-team field that’s expected to grow to 16 or 24 teams in the near future.
Pavia said his preferred playoff field would consist of “16 (teams) and then two play-in teams.”
Curtis, if he’s to deliver on his pledge to Pavia to win a national title, first would need to guide Vanderbilt through a challenging schedule that will include home games against Alabama, Tennessee and games at Florida and Georgia.
The game against the Bulldogs in Athens on Oct. 3 figures to carry a great deal of drama, given Curtis’ long-standing relationship with that program.
Curtis was committed twice to UGA, from March 23, 2024 to Oct. 17, 2024, and then again from May 5, 2025 to Dec. 2, 2025 — the day before flipping his decision to sign with Vanderbilt.
Pavia said he believes Curtis’ decision to play for Vanderbilt came down to one factor about the former Nashville Christian prep star that Georgia couldn’t control.
“I think he was just wanting to stay in his hometown and do something for Vandy that’s never been done,” Pavis said.
About the Author
Mike is in his 10th season covering SEC and Georgia athletics for AJC-DawgNation and has 25 years of CFB experience. Mike is a Heisman Trophy voter and former Football Writers President who was named the National FWAA Beat Writer of the Year in January, 2018.
