Diego Pavia was a state champion wrestler in high school. Now he'll have a chance to battle his way into the NFL.
During an appearance on "The Lounge" podcast Wednesday, General Manager Eric DeCosta confirmed that Pavia will be part of the Ravens' undrafted rookie class of 2026.
The Ravens also reportedly agreed to sign undrafted quarterback Joe Fagnano, setting up a competition for the No. 3 quarterback spot behind Lamar Jackson and Tyler Huntley.
"This year, watching him on tape, it was ridiculous what he did," DeCosta said of Pavia. "So when we had the chance to bring him in last week, we did."
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Pavia is the first Heisman Trophy finalist to go undrafted since 2014, following former Northern Illinois quarterback Jordan Lynch. That feeds into Pavia's me-against-the-world mentality.
Last season, Pavia threw for 3,539 yards and 29 touchdowns and ran for 862 yards and another 10 scores. He won the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm award and was named the SEC Offensive Player of the Year.
Yet, mostly because of his 5-foot-10 size and perhaps because of his brashness, including a vulgar post after not winning the Heisman that he apologized for, Pavia went undrafted.
"That's a guy that obviously played really well – phenomenal, phenomenal," DeCosta said. "He had a great year this year. I love his competitive desire and his grit."
DeCosta was familiar with Pavia's wrestling background. An Albuquerque, N.M., native, Pavia won the 195-pound state title as a senior. He received a partial scholarship offer from Nebraska to wrestle but chose football even though he was a no-star recruit.
From then on, he built a track record of winning jobs and winning games. Pavia started at New Mexico Military Institute and won the starting job as a true freshman. As a sophomore, he led New Mexico Military Institute to a 12-1 season, including the 2021 junior college national championship.
He transferred to New Mexico State and again won the starting job. In 2023, Pavia led the Aggies to a 10-win season, including a victory over Auburn, and was named the Conference USA Offensive Player of the Year.
He then transferred again to Vanderbilt and claimed the starting gig. Pavia spearheaded arguably the best back-to-back seasons in Vanderbilt history. The Commodores went 10-3 last season and were ranked as high as No. 9 in the AP poll.
"Vandy's got a great head coach [Clark Lea]. I think he's one of the best in college football," DeCosta said. "Diego did a great job this year and Vandy had an amazing season."
Fagnano is another intriguing undrafted quarterback, but with less glitz around his name.
He stands in at 6-foot-3 and had a phenomenal final season at Connecticut in which he threw for 3,448 yards and 28 touchdowns with just one interception. Fagnano's accuracy took a big jump with a 69% completion rate, but he's not much of a running threat.
The Athletic's Dane Brugler ranked Fagnano as his 10th-best quarterback in this year's class, six spots ahead of Pavia. What will likely be one of the Ravens' more buzzworthy competitions this offseason kicks off Friday at the start of rookie minicamp.
"We feel really good about Lamar and we feel really good about 'Snoop' Huntley," DeCosta said on WBAL Radio. "After that, it's basically a contest to see who the best man is."
