Jesse Minter: Diego Pavia was a “force multiplier” at Vanderbilt, will come in with a clean slate
After it was first reported that former Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia had accepted an invitation to Ravens rookie minicamp, it was then revealed on Tuesday that the signal-caller would actually be signing with the club as an undrafted free agent.
Pavia will now get to compete alongside fellow UDFA QB Joe Fagnano on the 90-man roster, ostensibly to have a shot at being the club’s third QB on the 53-man roster behind starter Lamar Jackson and backup Tyler Huntley.
In an interview with NFL Network’s Good Morning Football on Wednesday, Ravens head coach Jesse Minter praised Pavia, noting that the Heisman finalist elevated those around him.
“One thing I would say about Diego — and Clark Lea, the head coach at Vanderbilt, is a really dear, close friend of mine — this guy was a force multiplier at Vanderbilt,” Minter said. “He came there at a time when they needed to get it going and Clark was building something. And this guy made everybody in the building better. He’s one of the first people in, he’s one of the last to leave. He’s a really hard worker.
“We’ll certainly have some talks about maybe how to handle certain things a little bit better. But, again, any rookie undrafted free agent — come in and work. Let what you do on the field and by your actions show who you really are. We’ll let him come in with a little bit of a clean slate and just give him a platform, along with the rest of the guys coming in, give them a platform to see what they can do.”
A four-year starter across two programs, Pavia completed 62.2 percent of his collegiate passes in 53 career games for 10,255 yards with 88 touchdowns and 27 interceptions. He also rushed for 3,098 yards with 31 TDs.
