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Jesse Minter provides Diego Pavia 'clean slate' after signing UDFA deal with Ravens

Byington mugby: Alex Byington04/29/26_AlexByington

Things are finally starting to look up for Diego Pavia after becoming the first Heisman Trophy finalist since 2014 to go undrafted during last weekend’s 2026 NFL Draft.

In fact, after originally only garnering a minicamp invite, the dynamic former Vanderbilt quarterback signed a three-year undrafted free agent deal with the Baltimore Ravens on Tuesday ahead of this weekend’s rookie minicamp. And, despite the presence of former NFL MVP Lamar Jackson at quarterback, Pavia will be provided every opportunity to make the Ravens’ roster, according to first-year head coach Jesse Minter.

“One thing I would say about Diego — and Clark Lea, the head coach at Vanderbilt, is a really dear, close friend of mine — this guy was a force multiplier at Vanderbilt,” Minter said during Wednesday’s episode of Good Morning Football on NFL Network. “He came there at a time when they needed to get it going and Clark was building something. And this guy made everybody in the building better. He’s one of the first people in, he’s one of the last to leave. He’s a really hard worker.

“We’ll certainly have some talks about maybe how to handle certain things a little bit better. But, again, any rookie undrafted free agent — come in and work,” Minter continued. “Let what you do on the field and by your actions show who you really are. We’ll let him come in with a little bit of a clean slate and just give him a platform, along with the rest of the guys coming in, give them a platform to see what they can do.”

Despite going undrafted, Pavia is still arguably one of the most accomplished and controversial figures in college football after sparking SEC cellar-dweller Vanderbilt to its first-ever 10-win campaign in 2025 and back-to-back bowl appearances during his two seasons in Nashville.

Pavia won the 2025 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award after throwing a program-record 3,539 yards and 29 touchdowns, to go along with 862 rushing yards and 10 scores on the ground last season. A true dual-threat QB, Pavia combined for 13,349 total yards and 119 touchdowns across six collegiate seasons at both Vanderbilt and New Mexico Military, a junior college.

Of course, Pavia won’t be alone as an UDFA signing after UConn‘s Joe Fagnano also signed a three-year deal with Baltimore on Tuesday. Fagnano and Pavia join Jackson and long-time backup Tyler Huntley in the Ravens’ quarterback room.

This weekend’s minicamp could prove pivotal to determining whether Pavia has a place in the NFL, or if his future in professional football is destined for the lower ranks like the CFL or UFL.