Is Diego Pavia greatest Vanderbilt quarterback ever? We asked some former Commodores QBs

• Vanderbilt has a history of outstanding quarterbacks, including Kurt Page, Watson Brown, Jay Cutler and Whit Taylor.
• The No. 17 Commodores are set to face No. 11 Alabama, seeking their first win in Tuscaloosa since 1984.
• Former Vanderbilt quarterbacks and coaches have praised Pavia's leadership, skill, and "it" factor.

Vanderbilt football has had some outstanding quarterbacks over the years, but perhaps none as exceptional as Diego Pavia.

Who can say whether Pavia is the best Commodores quarterback of all time? How about some of the players who came before him?

We asked some of the top quarterbacks in Vanderbilt history what they think of Pavia, who led the Commodores past No. 1 Alabama last season and to a bowl game.

The No. 17 Commodores (5-0, 1-0 SEC) face No. 11 Alabama (3-1, 1-0) on Oct. 4 (2:30 p.m. CT, ABC) in Tuscaloosa.

Could Diego Pavia become first Vanderbilt QB to win at Alabama since Kurt Page?

Kurt Page became the first SEC quarterback to throw for more than 3,000 yards in a season in 1983.

Page thew two touchdowns in Vandy's 30-21 win at Alabama in 1984 for the Commodores' last win in Tuscaloosa.

Page is still in football today coaching the Gyor Sharks in the Hungarian Football League. He's a long way from home but keeping tabs on Pavia.

"It feels like Diego is on track to be more successful during his accumulated career in junior college, Group of Five, and the SEC than any quarterback in Vanderbilt history," Page said. "This story has to be one of the best of all-time beginning with him having two coaches (chief consultant to the head coach Jerry Kill and offensive coordinator Tim Beck) that know what it takes for him to win at this level."

Is Diego Pavia Vanderbilt's greatest QB ever?

Vanderbilt's all-time leading passer in career yards is Kyle Shurmur (8,865) followed by Jay Cutler (8,697). Jordan Rodgers only played two seasons at Vanderbilt (2011-12) and threw for 4,063 yards.

Pavia has thrown for 3,504 yards in 18 games at Vanderbilt.

David Culley was Vanderbilt's first Black quarterback (1973-77) and went on to be coach of the Houston Texans.

Culley has seen most of Vanderbilt's quarterbacks going back to his days at White County in the 1970s and says Pavia is in the conversation for the very best.

"I don't know about the best ever, but he's up there," Culley said. "He's a leader. He's got great football intelligence. He's been told his whole life he's too small, he's not big enough, but he's just one of those guys that has that 'it' factor. He's very skilled and he maximizes his ability."

Diego Pavia handles Vanderbilt offense like Whit Taylor

When it comes to constructing an offense to fit a player's skill set like Vanderbilt has done for Pavia, it also was done for Whit Taylor when Watson Brown was the offensive coordinator under coach George MacIntyre in 1982.

"We were running the split back veer before Watson got there and I wasn't going to last long doing that," said Taylor, who is close to Pavia's size at 5-foot-11, 185-pounds. "After he restructured the offense he called me into his office and said, 'I want you to understand, if this offense is going to go you're the one who's going to have to make it go.'"

Under that pressure Taylor made the All-SEC first team and led Vandy to an 8-4 record and the Hall of Fame Bowl. He says the position he was put in is similar to Pavia's.

"The difference is that for me it was a lot to handle, but for somebody like Diego, he doesn't have any problem with it," Taylor said. "He's confident enough to handle it. What I like about him is he is doing the same thing he did last year and doing it a little bit better. He throws the deep ball better."

Diego Pavia isn't first Vanderbilt Heisman Trophy candidate

Brown was also a Vanderbilt quarterback, turning down Bear Bryant's offer to play for Alabama and leading the Commodores to a stunning upset over the Crimson Tide in 1969.

As Vanderbilt's offensive coordinator from 1981-82 and coach from 1986-90 Brown ran offenses that leaned heavily on the quarterback like the Commodores do with Pavia.

"I've always been at places where we weren't as good so we ran quarterback-oriented offenses," Brown said. "We weren't good enough to turn around and hand it off and gain enough yards. I see two of my guys at Vanderbilt − Whit and Eric Jones − who Pavia reminds me of."

After Jones led the SEC in passing efficiency and total offense in his first season as a starter in 1987, Vanderbilt launched a Heisman Trophy campaign for Jones in 1988.

Pavia is a Heisman candidate. He is listed by FanDuel Sportsbook as tied for eighth with Tennessee quarterback Joey Aguilar at plus-1,700.

"There's a lot of really good quarterbacks out there, but a great quarterback shows up when he's got to show up," Brown said. "That's what Whit and Eric did and that's what Pavia is doing. He shows up when it's time."

Reach Mike Organ at 615-259-8021 of on X @MikeOrganWriter.