Hugh Freeze Gives Bold Statement on Vanderbilt Commodores QB Diego Pavia
Hugh Freeze said he’s ‘sick’ of seeing Diego Pavia, but doesn’t want to focus on last year
When Auburn football hosts Vanderbilt at Jordan-Hare Stadium on Saturday, they will face a familiar—and often troublesome—quarterback in Diego Pavia.
Pavia has become one of the standout stories in college football this season, but he already posed challenges for Auburn and head coach Hugh Freeze before his rise to prominence in 2024. He previously led the New Mexico State team that defeated Auburn 31-10 in 2023 and played a key role in their 49-14 victory over Freeze’s Liberty team in 2022.
“I’m tired of seeing that quarterback. I’ve had enough of him,” Freeze joked during his Monday press conference. “He’s a fierce competitor, and Clark Lea and his staff have done a tremendous job preparing their team to be competitive and have a chance to win.”
It’s understandable that Freeze feels this way, considering his teams have been outscored 70-24 by Pavia’s squads in their past encounters. However, Freeze noted that there won’t be much discussion about last season’s game with Pavia in their defensive meetings this week.
He recognized the difficulty of containing Pavia and Vanderbilt’s offense but emphasized the importance of film study over any notion of seeking revenge.
“We’re just going to be honest with them,” Freeze said. “We have some solid film from their games. They play incredibly hard and put in extra effort.”
Last season, Pavia threw for 228 yards and three touchdowns while adding 35 rushing yards in the upset win over Auburn. This season, one of his standout performances was against Alabama, where he passed for 252 yards and two touchdowns on 16 of 20 attempts and rushed for 56 yards.
His mobility adds an extra dimension to Vanderbilt’s offense, as he averages 67.1 rushing yards per game and ranks sixth in the Southeastern Conference with a total of 537 rushing yards.
Freeze stated that Pavia will compel Auburn’s defense to “play assignment football on every play,” which will be crucial given Auburn’s struggles against mobile quarterbacks earlier in the season.
Devon Dampier, Taylen Green, and Michael Hawkins each posed challenges for Auburn at different points, but none of them run as frequently as Pavia. Pavia ranks second in the nation for carries among quarterbacks, with 134 total and an average of 16.8 carries per game.
While Dampier, Green, and Hawkins found some success running against Auburn, much of it was due to scrambling rather than planned runs. Auburn can expect to encounter more designed quarterback runs when facing Vanderbilt, highlighting the importance of staying focused on their assignments.