Diego Pavia’s run at Vanderbilt left a mark that won’t be easy to duplicate, and Clark Lea isn’t pretending otherwise.
Speaking Tuesday at SEC Media Days, the Vanderbilt coach made it clear that the Commodores are stepping into a new phase now that Pavia is off to the NFL after helping power the program to a 10-win season in 2025, the best finish in school history. That breakthrough changed the feel around Vanderbilt football, but Lea said the next team has to build its own version of that success.
“We won’t replicate Diego,” Lea said. “He’s unique in so many ways. Gosh, you know, to take just a moment and talk about how grateful I am to have coached him, to have had him be a part of our program for two years, then to pivot and say, you know, there are a lot of guys that have been working in the shadows doing all the little things that leaders do that haven’t had the spotlight turned on them.”
With Pavia gone, Vanderbilt is looking at true freshman Jared Curtis or senior Blaze Berlowitz to take over at quarterback. Lea said the transition is about more than replacing one player. In college football, last season’s results don’t carry over on their own, and Vanderbilt has to earn whatever comes next.
“Now it’s their turn,” Lea said “We inherit the standards, the culture, the attitude, the expectation to win. We don’t inherit any one result from our past.
So this group has to build its own chemistry. This group has to define its own identity as a team.
To say that we’ve done that to this point, I’ve been pleased with our work, but I think we have ground to cover yet. I’m talking about to represent what 2026 Vanderbilt football will look like, but I know we have the pieces to do it.”
Vanderbilt opens the season September 5 against Austin Peay.
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Clark Lea Just Sent A Powerful Message About Vanderbilt Leadership
Clark Lea used his SEC Media Days platform to make sure Vanderbilts leadership got as much attention as his football program. The Commodores coach spoke glowingly about athletic director Candice Storey Lee, pointing to the direction she has given the department and the standard she has set across campus. It was the kind of public endorsement that says as much about the culture around a program as any depth chart update.
Storey Lees profile has only grown after being named Athletic Director of the Year for the 2025-26 academic year by the Sports Business Journal, and Vanderbilts recent run under her watch has given Lea plenty of reason to be vocal. The department has stacked up historic success in multiple sports, and it has also secured long-term stability by extending four head coaches, including Lea. For a school that has spent years trying to build something sturdier, that kind of alignment matters. [Read more 🡒]
Clark Lea Just Addressed Vanderbilts Biggest Post-Pavia Question
Clark Lea spent part of SEC Media Days looking back at how far Vanderbilt has come, and it is a pretty striking climb. The Commodores followed a 2-10 season two years ago with a 7-6 step forward before breaking through for a school-record 10 wins last year, a run that has changed the tone around the program and raised the standard for what comes next. Lea said the work is still about building the best football program possible, and he pointed to athletic director Candice Storey Lee as a central figure in the turnaround.
The bigger question now is how Vanderbilt handles life after Diego Pavia, last seasons SEC Player of the Year and the engine of so much of that success. Lea acknowledged the challenge of moving forward without him, which is the kind of transition that can define whether a breakthrough is a one-year spike or the start of something sturdier. For a program that has spent the last two seasons reshaping its identity, the next step is proving it can keep pushing even as the face of the offense moves on. [Read more 🡒]
Clark Lea Just Raised The Stakes On Vanderbilt's Breakthrough
As Vanderbilt turns its attention toward 2026, Clark Lea is making clear the program no longer sees itself as a feel-good story built on a hot stretch or a single breakout star. The head coach pointed to the infrastructure and culture around the team as reasons for his confidence, and he said this group has the deepest roster he has assembled in his tenure, a sign the Commodores believe their rise is becoming more than a one-year burst.
That belief is showing up inside the locker room, too, where the expectations are getting bigger along with the profile. Issa Ouattara and Sedrick Alexander have both spoken openly about wanting the biggest prizes available, and that kind of ambition only adds to the pressure on a program that now has to prove its breakthrough was the start of something lasting rather than a one-off run. [Read more 🡒]