Vanderbilt nabbed multiple SEC individual awards this week as it nears the end of its 2025 season. Head coach Clark Lea and quarterback Diego Pavia headlined this year’s honors, claiming both SEC Coach of the Year and SEC Offensive Player of the Year, respectively.
This marks the second year in a row that Lea has won SEC Coach of the Year, as he took home the award in 2024 after bringing Vanderbilt to its first bowl game in six years. Lea is now the first-ever Vanderbilt coach to receive the award in back-to-back seasons.
He’s led the Commodores to a 10-2 record overall and 6-2 conference record — both of which are program bests. The fifth-year head coach took down four ranked opponents at the time of the contest — South Carolina, Missouri, LSU and Tennessee — and has sustained Vanderbilt’s ranking in the AP Poll for now a record of 13 consecutive weeks.
Much of this success has been due to Pavia, who has had a record year in the black and gold. He’s now a Heisman Trophy finalist and will be present in New York for the official ceremony on Dec. 13.
The graduate quarterback was selected as SEC Offensive Player of the Week on three occasions this season and was recently named the winner of the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, given to the best upperclassmen quarterback in college football.
The New Mexico native has been ultra-efficient this season, accounting for 4,018 total yards of offense with 36 total touchdowns. He leads the SEC in completion percentage (71%), passing touchdowns (27) and QBR (87.7). He also set the program’s single-game passing yards record against Kentucky on Nov. 22, throwing for 484 yards in Vanderbilt’s dominating victory.
Pavia and tight end Eli Stowers also took home First Team All-SEC honors on Monday, recognizing this incredible duo this season.
Stowers leads all tight ends in the nation in total catches (62) as he’s posted 769 yards and four touchdowns in this year’s campaign. He’s a finalist for the John Mackey Award, given to the most outstanding tight end in the nation. He also recently won the William V. Campbell Trophy, the academic equivalent of the Heisman, on Tuesday night.
Vanderbilt returns to action at the ReliaQuest Bowl on Dec. 31 in Tampa, Florida.
