Vanderbilt QB Diego Pavia Promised To Set Theo Von Up On A Date With His Mom If They Beat South Carolina

Better start making that reservation.

Just a couple years ago, the thought of Vanderbilt beating South Carolina seemed like a longshot at best. Vanderbilt football has been the laughingstock of the SEC for a long time now. Even legendary Alabama coach Nick Saban threw some shade at Vandy last year, saying it was the only stadium in the conference that wasn’t an intimidating environment for opponents:

“The only place you’re going to play in the SEC that’s not hard to play, Vanderbilt. When you play at Vanderbilt, you have more fans there than they have. And that’s no disrespect to them, it’s the truth.”

But that was before the Commodores knocked off then-#1 ranked Alabama in one of the biggest upsets of the 2024 season, and then managed to beat Auburn on the road and rival Georgia Tech in the Birmingham Bowl to secure their first winning season since 2013.

The turnaround was thanks in no small part to the culture shift that head coach Clark Lea is trying to bring to the program, the addition of Jerry Kill to the staff in 2024 as an “offensive advisor,” as well as transfer QB Diego Pavia. The former New Mexico State quarterback has ruffled some feathers with his trash talking, but he’s also managed to back it up with his play on the field as he’s seemingly brought a new swagger to a program that never really seemed to think they could win on any given Saturday.

For anyone who thought the 2024 season was a fluke for Vandy, they’ve quickly proved that they’re the real deal in 2025. The Commodores opened the season with a win over Charleston Southern at home before hitting the road to absolutely demolish Virginia Tech last weekend.

Now, the Hokies lost to Old Dominion today so maybe that win won’t be as impressive in hindsight, but to erase any doubt, Vandy went on the road yet again and put a beatdown on #11 South Carolina, beating the Gamecocks 31-7 in their own stadium.

And the only person who might have been more excited about the win than Diego Pavia and his Vanderbilt teammates might have been…Theo Von.

The comedian, podcaster and Nashville resident was on the Vandy sideline for the game, where he told reporter Cole Cubelic that Diego Pavia had promised him a date with his mom if the Commodores beat South Carolina:

“She’s a nurse, and my goal is I would like to marry a nurse one day, so that’s why. He was thinking about that.”

But it sounds like Theo was already getting cold feet before the game was even over:

“I don’t know, I like being his friend, I don’t want to end up being like his stepdad or something, you know? … We’ll see what happens.”

Oh, and for anyone wondering, this is Diego Pavia’s mom, Antoinette Padilla.

Better go ahead and start making plans, Theo.The post Vanderbilt QB Diego Pavia Promised To Set Theo Von Up On A Date With His Mom If They Beat South Carolina first appeared on Whiskey Riff.