While Fernando Mendoza won the 2025 Heisman Trophy, it’s been Diego Pavia who has seemingly attracted the most attention in the aftermath of Saturday night’s presentation.
That’s because the often outspoken Vanderbilt quarterback made it clear how he felt about his second-place finish, reposting a picture from comedian and podcaster Theo Von to his Instagram story, writing, “F*** all the voters.. but family for life.”
Diego Pavia’s message on instagram:
F*** all the voters.. but family for life. pic.twitter.com/arGq0naWC3
— Dylan Tovitz (@dtovitz) December 14, 2025
While Pavia has since apologized for the post, his comment had already taken on a life of its own. And that included a reaction from at least one Heisman Trophy voter in Chase Goodbread, who penned a column responding to the senior signal-caller.
“I’m heartbroken (not really), troubled (not at all), and disgusted (SARCASM) that a Heisman finalist would be so unsportsmanlike in finishing second,” Goodbread wrote. “The Heisman Trust isn’t my trust, its trophy isn’t my trophy, and Pavia did a lot more to embarrass himself than any voter. Nor does his jackassery change my opinion that he was the second-best option for the award.”
The Alabama columnist noted that his Heisman ballot — the first he’s ever cast — mirrored the final results: 1. Mendoza, 2. Pavia, 3. Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love. He also stated that Pavia’s post wasn’t just insulting to him and the other voters, but also Mendoza, who was a deserving (and decisive) recipient.
Goodbread proceeded to state his case for Mendoza, pointing out that he isn’t just the star quarterback of the nation’s No. 1 team, but that he also outplayed a pair of fellow Heisman Trophy candidates in Oregon’s Dante Moore and Ohio State’s Julian Sayin in head-to-head matchups. He then took multiple digs at Pavia by pointing out that Vanderbilt is “preparing to play Iowa in front of a bunch of empty ReliaQuest Bowl seats” before dismissing any defense that the 23-year-old quarterback is “just a kid blowing off steam.”
“He’s a big boy now. Old enough to have more than one college degree. Old enough to beat the NCAA in court to gain extra eligibility, and old enough to make the pile of NIL money that came with that,” he wrote. “Old enough to know better. And old enough to handle some criticism.
“It was a punk move, Diego. This voter wasn’t sitting right next to Mendoza Saturday night, but my congrats for him are at least genuine.”
Considering the nature of the post, it’s understandable why Goodbread would take Pavia’s comments so personally. Still, one could certainly question the decision to respond with a series of potshots directed at the quarterback’s age and what is already considered Vanderbilt’s most successful season since the 1920s.
It’s also worth noting that Goodbread’s response was published one day before Diego Pavia issued his apology. Based on his X feed, it’s currently unclear whether the apology changed the Tuscaloosa News columnist’s perspective. In the meantime, perhaps the ReliaQuest Bowl should be seeking an apology of its own.
