‘We’re here to quiet him’ — Tennessee standout has a lighthearted but blunt message for his Vanderbilt friend and former teammate ahead of huge rivalry clash
Star Thomas once caught touchdowns from Diego Pavia. Now, he’ll be looking to keep him from making Vanderbilt history.
Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia and Tennessee running back Star Thomas have had quiet the journey since the 2023 season. Both current SEC standouts have found themselves in key roles on their respective teams as the Commodores and Volunteers approach their regular season finale against each other on Saturday afternoon in Knoxville.
Pavia and Thomas are former teammates at New Mexico State University, where they played together from 2022-23. That New Mexico State team landed on the map of many college football fans when they upset Auburn towards the end of the season 31-10. Pavia connected with Thomas on a 17-yard touchdown pass in the game.
Now, the duo are two years removed from that team, but they’ve managed to stay in touch, and that includes this week. Thomas spoke to the media on Tuesday, and he said Pavia called him this week, and that while they joked, he said that he had a message for the Vandy QB.
Star Thomas said that he let Diego Pavia know that Tennessee ‘is here to quiet him’ this week
“He called me yesterday, but I [didn’t] want to talk to him to be honest,” Thomas said with a chuckle. “No, I had answered, but it was all games, all jokes and stuff. I just had to let him know we’re here to quiet him, let him know that we hear the outside noise, too, but we’re just keeping the main thing the main thing, and that’s football at the end of the day.”
It’s interesting to hear Thomas say that they hear the “outside noise” when talking about Pavia. The outspoken Vanderbilt quarterback never keeps his emotions from finding their way to his sleeves, and he’s never shy about saying what he’s feeling. That was evident this summer when Pavia talked about how “Vanderbilt is going to run Tennessee after this year” during a Bussin’ with the Boys podcast episode back in June.
It appears those words haven’t been lost on Tennessee’s players, at least if you can read the tea leaves from Thomas’ comments. If there was any additional motivation needed – and there shouldn’t be, given the opportunity for Vanderbilt to reach 10 wins for the first time ever with a shot at the College Football Playoff and the opportunity for Tennessee to deny them – then Pavia’s diss track from the summer should have been posted all over the Tennessee facility this week as added incentive.
The Vols and Commodores will take the field to see who will claim that state supremacy on Saturday at 3:30 pm ET inside Neyland Stadium.
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