Diego Pavia is coming off one of the greatest seasons of any quarterback in college football.

Across 13 games, he completed an SEC-leading 70.6% of his passes for 3,539 yards, 29 touchdowns, and eight interceptions, posting a conference-best 170.4 passer rating. He also rushed for 862 yards and 10 touchdowns, leading Vanderbilt to a 10-3 record — the program's highest win total ever. He earned first-team All-SEC, first-team All-American, and SEC Offensive Player of the Year honors, and finished as the Heisman Trophy runner-up.

After such a historic season for a program that had never seen that level of success, some have even wondered whether Vanderbilt might retire his iconic No. 2 jersey. Now, the Commodores may not have to — because there's a real path for Pavia to make a return to college football.

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The NCAA recently adopted a new "five years to play five seasons" rule, replacing the old four-seasons limit. And on Wednesday, ESPN's Dan Murphy and Pete Thamel reported that three former Ole Miss starters were granted a temporary restraining order allowing them to return to college. 30 other college athletes across various sports also filed a lawsuit against the NCAA in Louisiana state court, many of them football players currently signed to NFL contracts who are looking to make a return to college.

Given what's happening across the sport, Pavia could argue he deserves a fifth Division I season, since his two JUCO years technically shouldn't count against him. Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio argues it's something Pavia should strongly consider, given how few options he has left elsewhere.

"At a time when college programs are scouring NFL rosters for first-year players who could get a fifth year of major college football, why wouldn't someone explore upgrading the quarterback position with Pavia, who currently is under contract with no NFL team?" Florio wrote. "Why wouldn't Pavia want to do it? His only other options are the CFL (that hasn't happened yet) and the UFL (which starts after football season ends). Pavia could make a pretty penny by playing college football for another season."

Despite his standout 2025 season with the Commodores, Pavia went undrafted in the 2026 NFL Draft due to concerns over his size (under 5-foot-10), playing style, and maturity. After the draft, he received an invite to the Baltimore Ravens' rookie camp but was released by the team at the start of training camp. The Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the CFL currently hold his exclusive negotiation rights, though he hasn't yet decided whether he wants to sign and play north of the border.

With an NIL valuation of around $300,000 — more than twice the average CFL player's earnings — his most lucrative option may be to return to college for one more season and make another case to NFL teams that he deserves a shot.

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