Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia has easily become the most fun player to watch in college football. He gained national popularity when the Commodores took down the then-No. 1 ranked Alabama Crimson Tide last year but has led his team to a No. 10 ranking this season.
Pavia has Vanderbilt football peaking, a phrase many believed would never be uttered. Though, this could be the program's last chance at some sort of title for quite some time as Pavia's tenure in college football may come to an end after this season.
The 24-year-old was granted eligibility for the 2025 season through a preliminary injunction handed down by a federal judge against the NCAA over the offseason. His lawyers challenged NCAA rules preventing JUCO players from excluding their two-year school participation as counting towards FBS or FCS eligibility. Pavia spent two seasons at New Mexico Military Academy before transferring to New Mexico State in 2022.
Diego Pavia shouldn't be punished for being an underdog college football success story
Despite Pavia previously saying 2025 will be his final college football season (with how he's playing he could be a late-round NFL Draft pick), he should still serve as an example for allowing guys who were given little chance to succeed but finding it anyways to play as long as they can.
With NIL and revenue sharing making college athletes de facto employees of the university athletic programs they play for, athletes like Pavia who seemingly have no clear path to the pros should be able to benefit from an extended college career.
Pavia and other JUCO standouts that make it to the NCAA already have an uphill climb to take full advantage of their eligibility to get noticed by an NFL team. Making them burn two years for playing in non-NCAA competition just seems wrong.
Pavia's eligibility is an isolated case as the judge's injunction applied just to his circumstances. However, his argument can serve as the foundation for others like him that will be pursuing a full four or five years in the NCAA after JUCO.
If Pavia's success and popularity is any indication, there are plenty more benefits for NCAA marketing than detractions against the rules as they stand.