Diego Pavia Could be the Key Piece in Vandy's Resurrection

Diego Pavia could be the key piece to vy's Resurrection in 2024 you are locked on Vandy your daily podcast on the Vanderbilt commodor part of the lockon podcast Network your team every day welcome in to the lockon Vandy podcast on the lockon podcast Network I'm your host Corey Burton thanks for making locked on vand your first listen every day we are free and available wherever you get your podcast and on YouTube as a part of the lockdown podcast Network your team every day today's episode is brought to you by ultimate GM ultimate college football head coach is a brand new mobile game that is completely free has no ads and is 100% playable offline use the promo code locked on cfp CFB excuse me all caps inside the game store and receive a free boost to your program begin your coaching Legacy today well Vandy wraps up fall camp and we learned quite a few things one thing that we learned was that this defense will be very disruptive and look to wreak havoc this offense will lean on ball control and Run game as they develop the passing game and there's an interesting development for the backup quarterback role but with Diego pavia's quarterback one now he could be the key piece for vandy's Resurrection in 2024 so Pavia won outright won the job okay and I don't think anybody was surprised by this but he I think is going to be the key piece to a much much improved season from Vanderbilt I I think the dynamic that he brings and yes there is a little bit of a concern that his downfield passing ability is not there it's not great but I think the overall leadership I think as they develop uh chemistry with the wide receivers I think as they go as they get their offensive line settled which I think they pretty much do that you're GNA see this offense and it might even be pretty sudden I don't know I don't know that it'll be week one but it it'll it'll kind of happen it'll kind of jolt and you'll be like oh well this offense is way better and a lot of that's going to be due to the leadership and the intangible qualities that Diego Pavia brings to the table he was he if if you saw the on on X if you saw the the captain's picture he was list he was front and center he was holding the football he was voted as one of the team captains so the team believes in him and him being a key piece in this whole thing is going to be great he's you know as the pass game like I said as a pass game develops as he gets more comfortable being in Nashville I I think playing his first game against a quality opponent will kind of get him going a little bit and I think he's somebody that he's frustrating to read about because in practice he's probably he's one of those players that he's kind of a gunslinger he makes a lot of mistakes you know he takes a lot of risk things like that but like it just seems that when the game turns on he just clicks and he's what you would call a gamer and being that is very very important because you know once you know when when when things are flying left and right you know Virginia Tech's coming Fast and Furious they return 20 starters uh and this is going to be a tough matchup you've got to have somebody back there that's calm that can reassure you and that can get this offense going and the leadership qualities that he presents are outstanding it's the reason why New Mexico state was they they won 10 games it was a reason why they had a chance to play for the Conference USA championship they weren't successful Liberty just just outmatched them uh with with talent and there was not much they could do there but Diego Pavey had a phenomenal season including a massive massive win at Jordan a stadium where he took absolute command of the offense and he just marched them up and down the field he had he had Moxy he had a little bit of swagger he body slam the quarterback after throwing an interception um you know just just things that he was you know he brings to the table inspires the rest of the guys and that's why he has the captain C on his chest and that's why he's front and center that's why he won the job there's there's probably three or four physically better quarterbacks than he is but it's the other stuff that W him the job it's the other stuff that I think is going to lead Vandy to have a little bit of a resurrection and when I say Resurrection I mean like they were lucky to be 2 and 10 last year they were absolutely abysmal I think you're going to see a totally different team and and a program that un and a program that going to start to understand that hey we can actually do this and it's going to start with week one with Diego Pavia you're G to see he's going to be the key piece of that then the defense and Clark Lee calling the defense is going to be a key piece that Jerry Hill as well but uh something interesting's happened over uh since the last scrimmage uh and over the course of the practices with the backup quarterback job um I think this quarterback room is phenomenal this this room is very very talented uh St hair and mus champ are playing the role of Caleb drones at practice this week uh which I think you couldn't find two better people to play that role uh for uh for vandy's defense than than those two and those two are going to develop into some really really nice quarterbacks um and I'm excited about what they bring to the table but Drew Dicky was somebody early in Camp that I wrote off and I'm sure a lot of other people did too I mean he was he was struggling he wasn't quite picking up the offense as good he wasn't you know he just wasn't as as good as Nate Johnson physically he wasn't making some of the big throws even Blaise berwitz was out playing him uh he he wasn't he just wasn't performing he was just okay he was middle of the road he was solid and when you're in a race with some talented guys that's not going to that's not going to be the case but something clicked in his mind and over the course of I think it was after it was it was either after the first scrimmage or was like during the first scrimmage somewhere right around that time frame he it seemed like he just started picking up things he started making plays started started making really good throws down the field um really started kind of taking command of this offense a little bit and um there's some talk that he may have won the backup job and this is interesting because like again I rode him off I didn't think he had a chance I thought he was good and I thought he you know I thought he presented a good uh a good case in in this in this whole race of where people but I thought okay Nate Johnson has a big arm fast explosive Led Led the offense at Utah for for a few games and I think it was kind of a weird situation over there um but like and then blae berwitz was also you know kind of like Pavia he knew the offense coming in you know he kind of had he kind of had that as an upper hand but then Dicky just started performing and he's a guy that's really surprised a lot of folks and probably not the coaching staff but he surprised a lot of folks in making this thing interesting so it's good to like the competition is still ra kind of raging on a little bit but like it's good to see that this quarterback room is in great shape because you have a lot of good players that understand the offense I think this this is something that is a really really good development because if something happens to Diego Pavia I don't think there's going to be a massive drop off I think you go you know I think there's going to be some packages uh designed for Nate Johnson based on what he can do because he is Far and Away the fastest guy in that quarterback room he has probably probably the biggest arm out of that group um but just mentally he just he just couldn't stay on an even plane he was Peak he was peaking in he was peaks in valleys with his performances and he had a he had a he had a really bad slump there uh in between scrimmage one and scrimmage two and it was a really bad slump and that's where JW Dicky made up some ground um he saw that BL berwitz was struggling a little bit Nate Johnson was struggling a ton and he saw an opportunity to kind of to kind of get himself in a position to where he could in fact be the backup quarterback so it's good to have some quality depth there because something happened like I said something happens to Pavia you know you can hand the keys to Drew dicki and you're not you're not completely screwed now I think if something does happen to Pavia and I think there's going to be a little bit of an element of a two quarterback system but I think it would be probably more of a situational based two quarterback system with p with uh with Dicky and Nate Johnson if if that were the case if if they were pressed into action uh because you know you still want to maintain that quarterback run game but you know you you I think you add an element of downfield passing with Dicky I think you have a guy that can that can command the quick game that can do a lot of different things there so but it's uh it's going to be interesting to kind of see what happens with that and and I'm I'm very excited man this is you know this is going to be fun it's game week guys it's game week so get ready forgin Tech coming into town in a week Saturday really so what six days five days man this is exciting man I can't I'm so excited I can't even do the math so um but this offense man it's going to be it's a work in progress you know it's a work in progress PVE is still getting chemistry with these receivers these receivers are still trying to figure themselves out uh the offensive line is still trying to shake out I think they've got some answers maybe um but uh pass protection is going to be something you got to work on but their identity is going to be key here and how they develop it because it you have to have it in order to be successful and move the ball because you have to know kind of who you are and try to design a game plan around okay we're not going to try to force feed a passing game that isn't there against a team that's returning 20 starters otherwise it's a recipe for disaster so control the ball control the clock we'll talk about how they're going to do that next all right hey lockdown Vandy fans I want to take a moment to give you a heads up on a brand new mobile game that I think you're going to love as much as I do ultimate college football head coach in this amazing game and simulation you get to step into the shoes of a head coach and lead your college football program to Glory can you imagine actually being the head coach of fandy or kenol state or Georgia or Kentucky whatever the case may be you go from recruiting players to hiring coach coaching staff to overseeing training camps and handling scholarships you control every crucial detail of your program it's all in your hands will you be able to handle the pressure I think I think I could and here's what I really love 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experts by subscribing to the locked on college football podcast who has a chance to make the playoff what teams will cause chaos in their new conferences everything you need to know all in one place be sure to follow And subscribe to the locked on college football podcast part of the lockon podcast Network your team every day and speaking of every day thank you to the every dayers for making us your first listen I appreciate you dearly make make sure you check out lockd on SEC make that your second listen of the day so so uh we talked about the quarterback position I think it's interesting that there's some there's some things that are kind of shaking out that coming into camp we didn't know that we didn't know was going to happen that we didn't think was going to happen or anticipate that was going to happen Drew Dicky was falling back falling back in the pack like it it was it was at one point we thought he was going to get passed over by uh by The Freshman well now not so fast he says and it is uh it is a situation to where um he really just kind of played his way into a into a spot so this is exciting guys it's gameweek did did I remind you guys that it's gameweek Virginia Tech is coming coming to town this is exciting stuff we're here we're finally here when I took this thing over in December it felt like I was never going to get to this point where I'm like okay it's time for football season well here we are it is time for football season so um but offense of but the offense is it's a work in progress and we knew that coming in we knew that you know the rebuild was was there we knew what was happening we knew that uh this team had a long way to go after an abysmal season that's kind of it's kind of where we're at so um this offensive identity is going to going to hinge on ball control it's going to hinge on controlling the clock it's going to hinge on a lot of different things um and I I think a strong Run game is going to help and I think honestly the reason why Nate Johnson still has a chance and I think why Diego Pavia is also in the mix is because they their running ability and the fact that they just bring explosiveness to the Run game like with the with with quarterback sweeps Zone readed power read Jet read you know those things you know downhill run downhill runs uh from the quarterback position I think are are things that give the quarterbacks or not just the quarterbacks but give the offense a spark they give the offense you know much needed identity and it makes things diff difficult for the defense so in doing so you allow the offense to really just lean into its identity and and really just kind of go you they're going to be able to control the clock they're going to be able to stay on schedule and they're going to be able to eat up field position as well so in a situation to where as you're as you're trying to develop things that's important because you still like just because you're developing a passing game doesn't mean that you have to go three and out all the time and and just try to force feed the run I I think it's there's going to be a lot of things that you're able to build off of it because it is a dynamic Run game I think there's a lot of there's a lot of layers to it there's a lot of wrinkles to it there's a lot of things you can do from the base run that make that base run Danger dangerous there's rpos there's play actions there is for there's formation looks that you can get into that present the defense with one idea and you give them a totally totally different idea or you give them a totally different play based on you know a tendency breaker so there's a lot of creative things you can do with motions shifts formations uh formation uh you know formation deception things like that that you can to give yourself an advantage with numbers and that's something that this offense is going to have to try to do they're going to have to try to especially early on but as they develop a passing game as they develop these wide receivers and get a get a really true true feel of who's going to be those guys you you have to you have to I don't want to say razzled dazzle because that seems a little bit that seems a little bit tricky that seems a little bit desperate but you do have to have a sense of you know what do you you know how are you going to trick the defense how are you going to get them out of position how you going to freeze these linebackers how you g to keep them from loading nine in the box and coming after you and saying you better you know pressing coverage and saying hey beat us um well well having a having a run game that can that can strike you at different places having rpos that can hit short screens uh things like that just just quick hitting things that get you on the edge Edge and get you attacking the defense and downhill as quickly as you can you put guys in conflict and it it's it's it's done it's a wrap and so you you have to sit there and go okay well if our identities control the clock we got to get first downs we gota and and punting is not punting is not a bad thing if you don't do it every single Drive punting is not a bad thing if you can move the ball a little bit get a couple first downs eat up some clock and then punt you put your defense in a good situation because they're rested and they can help and you can help them help you because this defense is really and we're going to talk about that soon uh they're really going to be the identity of the team and they're really it's really going to be especially early on maybe later in the season the offense can pitch in and help a little bit but early on it's going to be up to the offense to uh to pick up the defense and the defense is going to give the offense some chances and and hopefully with with as disruptive as disruptive as they can be they can provide opportunity for this for this offense uh to get some really good field position and to uh and to get in some advantageous situations to where they can put points on the board uh if not three six so uh this this is going to be a very interesting way uh to start the season because I don't you know there are concerns there with this offense you know it it you know how are they going to uh how are they going to get into the Run game you know are they going to be able to give Cedric Alexander and AJ Newberry and Monty Jones and those guys a lot of carries um and be effective with it I I I think they will be because there's going to be a lot of different ways for them to get the carries um but again is it going to be you know how are you going to get to the edge how are you going to get the ball out to these receivers you know what what are you doing to uh to to get the ball out there on the perimeter you know how are you going to get the ball down the field how are you going to get them to to give you something at 15 to 20 yards down the field on the sideline like how are you going to manipulate the defense how are you going to get them in position well again situationally I think putting some pressure on them using Tempo things like that I think will help as well so you're you're going to see some interesting things but I think motions shifts and things like that will and you didn't see a ton of that last year with with this offense and so you're going to see a good bit of that this year and and you're going to get uh you're going to get some deception I think you're going to ultimately get some uh get some points so uh but this defense again I think is going to be very disruptive I think they're going to make some big plays I think they're going to set this offense up in some really good situations this year better than they ever thought of doing last year we'll talk about how they're going to do that and what that's going to look like with Clark Lee now calling the plays next all right uh how about a how about a little jolt of energy uh from 5H Hour Energy Right are you tired after 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any other promotions this code is not good on subscription orders so go to 5our energy.com today that's the number five hour energy.com all right welcome back we are wrapping up the show here on the lock on VY podcast thanks for making us your first listen each and every day make sure you follow us on social media we are jacked up it is the season is here it is week one we have a great we have a great week lined up you know we we're gonna uh you know during the season you know aside from this week because we really didn't have much to react to um but it's going to be an overreaction Monday we're going to talk about what you know the good the bad the ugly from uh from the week before from the game on Sat the from the game on the previous Saturday uh then we're going to kind of take our lessons from that game and start to look ahead a little bit um with uh with you know reacting to Clark Le's press conference and uh you know what do we learn from the game uh Wednesday is going to be all about the matchup matchups Thursday uh we're GNA we're going to cross it over and Friday we're uh it's keys to the game and we're going to make some picks not just the not just the vanity game but we're going to make some other picks as well we're going to try to make you some money so these the weeks are going to be uh the weeks are going to be good and uh this is this is going to be a fun fun ride for this season so I hope you join me at coach Burton 36 at lockon Vandy um as well at uh lockon Vandy on Instagram my personal Instagram is coach Coach Corey Burton on Instagram as well if you want to follow that so uh this is uh again it's game week guys um and this season has already gotten off to a already gotten off to a great start uh Georgia Tech rolls into Dublin Dublin Ireland yeah you heard that correctly um they roll into Dublin and beat Florida State that's impressive man um and that sets up some things for um you know you get the season off with an upset like that does that mean this is going to be an interesting season does that mean there's going to be a lot of that a lot of parody with the transfer portal it's possible you know and Vandy got a lot of players out of the transfer portal on especially on defense right their quarterback I just talk talked about at the top of the show got him out of the transfer portal he could be the he could be the key piece to this whole thing right Vandy could be we could look up and go vy's in a bowl game oh it's because dgo pav balled out right well you know the other reason they're they could be in a bowl game is because this defense is ready to recaff right and Vandy is g to you could very well see Vandy go through Resurrection um and a resurrection I don't know if that the the B the bowl game is like best case scenario but I still think like winning four or five games you could still call it kind of a because where they were last year it is a bit of a resurrection but this defense is going to be disruptive man and and I'm excited for it because like this is this is going to be the true identity of the team and you know this this thing is looking like Clark Ley exact what exactly what he wanted you know he stepped in to be the defensive coordin he's ready for a new challenge he's you know he's jacked up about how it's going to feel on game day he's you know he's got to be extra he's got to be extra attentive to the defense but is also extra attentive to the game because I don't know he's the head coach um so he's got to kind of know what's going on situationally you know he's got to be able to communicate with the refs all the good stuff but him calling this defense him being the defensive coordinator is going to be outstanding it's going to be the best thing that's happened to this VY team or one of the best things that's happened to this v v team besides Jerry Hill um because they're going to fly around they're going to make plays and I think that you know I think that the turnover rate is going to be the biggest biggest stat Improvement for this defense because they're going to take the ball away probably way more than they than they than they did last year they're going to be disruptive they're going to be it's you're going to look up and go okay this team's this team's getting after it and what I saw and and I'm going to compare this to to Georgia Tech okay because I I think that Vandy did something was was similar defensively to Georgia Tech Georgia Tech last year um I I don't think they had the defense um they were they were one step away from just you know just letting the opposing offense go against air and and probably would have had a better better time at it because um they they weren't very good last year neither were Vandy and both made changes at defensive coordinator now Georgia Tech albeit I I think this is a good indication of what you could see out of Vandy not saying they're going to go in and beat Virginia Tech um just yet although I think they will um I think vandy's defense is going to be very disruptive very very Havoc Center centered just like Georgia Tech defense was this past weekend Georgia Tech defense they gave up some big plays and that's going to happen against against Virginia Tech in this game sat coming up Saturday it's going to happen right but there's also going to be some plays like on Third and long they're going to get a key sack on you know on second down they're going to tackle for loss they're going to punch the ball out they're going to pick they're going to pick one off in the end zone they're gonna you know it's going to be frustrating at times you're going to pull your hair out and then all of a sudden they're going to put string together two or three great series and it's G to set the offense up to be able to capitalize on that and uh you know Georgia Tech was helped by a phenomenal offense um but uh that's something that we're not sure if Vandy has uh because we just don't know what this offense is going to come out are they going to come out firing have they been holding back have they you know do they finally have a plan together like we just don't know what the offense is going to look like but we do know that the defense is going to give give the team some chances to put some points on the board the defense is going to be you know if you're a Virginia Tech fan playing against this defense is going to be frustrating because like you're going to see some some big play potential you're going to see some things open up but you can't quite get there or you're gonna see you know your quarterback drop back and he's got a couple guys in his face and he can't follow through on a throw and he's gonna he's going to miss some throws because he hurried it timing was off or or he's going to get hit and then you know quarterbacks when they get hit they get spooked a little bit so this defense is going to fly around and and and again if you want to kind of see what an improved defense looks like it's Georg Georgia Tech defense is like that and they improve drastically over over the course of a from last season they hired a new they had a new guy defensive coordinator he has a plan he has an identity and he just flat gets after you man they're aggressive that's what I love about their def they're aggressive and I think Clark Lee is going to be the same way because you have to be right for Georgia Tech to win that game Tech's defense had to had to take chances right there was a fourth down play a big fourth down play u where they Blitz they Blitz safety and Florida State ends up getting it first you know first and goal from the one um after a completion um because they you know they they Blitz the safety and couldn't get home couldn't get home on the blitz but it just showed you like hey they're they're throwing everything they can at the 10th ranked team in the number 10 ranked team in the country and it worked because it shook DJ UL it shook that Florida State offense to doubt themselves and that's what vandy's got to do defensively that's what's going going to be the identity of this team that's what's going to give this offense confidence that hey we need to step this thing up and I think Pavia will feed off that and I think this team will feed off that and if it's a great home crowd they will feed off of it so I think if you watch this Georgia Tech game as far as defensively this a great indicator of of how that's going to go offensively the Georgia Tech game was also a really good game to watch because shifts and motions and tendency Breakers and you know things that things that buster fauler and Tech did were outstanding as far as getting Florida State off balance because Florida state has one of the best defenses in the country but they were off balance all night and they couldn't seem to get right so shifts em motions are big part of that the schemes wasn't the schemes weren't that complex the looks the motions and the shifts made it complex and kept Florida State off balance and that's why we're sitting here talking about Georgia Tech with an upset so um but that's what we learned coming out of fall camp tomorrow we're going to turn our Focus towards the season we're going to start looking at some matchups what does Virginia Tech bring to the table we'll talk about that tomorrow but until then have a great rest of your day behave yourselves and of course anchor down