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The Baltimore Ravens opened the door for polarizing undrafted quarterback Diego Pavia to compete for a roster spot after the team signed him to a contract.
Ravens head coach Jesse Minter put the ball in Pavia’s hands to make the final roster before the summer is finished.
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“So now he’s in the door and it’s like, ‘Show us what you can do,’” Minter told reporters on Saturday, via ESPN. “And just like all the undrafted rookies, that’s what I would say.”
Pavia will likely be competing for the third spot on the quarterback depth chart. Former UConn Huskies quarterback Joe Fagnano is also on the roster. Lamar Jackson is the starting quarterback and Tyler Huntley is his backup, as of now.
The SEC Offensive Player of the Year had 3,539 passing yards and 29 touchdowns as he helped put the Commodores back on the map. Vanderbilt was 10-3 last season and nearly made the College Football Playoff.
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Pavia finished second in the Heisman Trophy voting, losing to Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza – who would go on to be the No. 1 pick in the draft. Pavia was also in the draft pool but teams’ failure to select him during the three-day event triggered some unfortunate history.
When Pavia finished second to Mendoza, he blasted Heisman Trophy voters.
“F-All the voters,” he wrote with a thumbs-down emoji. “But… family for life.”
He later apologized for the social media outburst.
The ex-Vandy star was the first Heisman Trophy finalist to not get drafted since 2014. The last person to fall into the category was former Northern Illinois quarterback Jordan Lynch, who was a Heisman Trophy finalist in 2013, finishing third in the voting.
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“(Pavia has) had some experiences that are learning experiences that he could learn from and be better from. I don’t think anybody would dispute that,” Minter said. “But when you talk to the people inside that building (at Vanderbilt) and what he’s about as a player, he is showing up early every day and working really hard.”
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