When the Vanderbilt Commodores pulled off one of the biggest upsets imaginable, on every play it looked as if Diego Pavia was willing to do whatever it took to pull off the upset of the Nation's top ranked team. It turned out the following weekend against Kentucky, the Commodores' star suffered an injury that would affect the rest of his season.
In an interview with KRQE's "Sports Office" Diego Pavia revealed that he suffered a torn hamstring during the Commodores game against Kentucky.
"I wasn't able to recover to my fullest potential, my leg was purple from top to bottom. I had a tear in my hamstring."Diego Pavia
The craziest part about Diego Pavia suffering a torn hamstring is that he led Vanderbilt to a win over the Wildcats without missing a snap. At the time of Diego Pavia's injury, the Commodores were 4-2 with a 2-1 record in SEC Play but, they finished the season with a 3-4 stretch with just one more win in SEC Play.
Depending on how injured Diego Pavia truly was, his hamstring tear could be the reason that the Commodores limped across the finish line. The following week against Ball State, Pavia passed for 275 yards which marked the last time he passed for more than 200 yards in a game.
On the other side of the argument, Diego Pavia's rushing ability seemed unaffected as he rushed for 6 touchdowns over the final 7 games with 40 or more yards rushing in all but, the Auburn game.
It's impossible to say that Diego Pavia wasn't affected by the injury he suffered as he went from a highly efficient passer to failing to complete more than 60% of his passes in 6 of the final 7 games. Heading into 2025, Vanderbilt will have a chance in every game if Diego Pavia is healthy and while it may affect how fun he is to watch, avoiding the big hits may help him stay healthy for the entire season.