Diego Pavia of Vanderbilt football was named SEC Newcomer of the Year by the AP, while Eli Stowers and Jesse Mirco were also named All-SEC.

Vanderbilt knows all too well what the transfer portal can do for a program. Last year, nobody lost more top-rated talent than the Commodores, but their acquisitions, especially at the quarterback position,

The Commodores (6-4, 3-3 SEC) did clinch bowl eligibility with relatively uninspiring wins over Ball State and Auburn. Vanderbilt narrowly lost to Texas but took its worst loss of the season, 28-7, to South Carolina two weeks ago.

While there won't be a similar incident for Vanderbilt vs Tennessee − the game is at Nashville's FirstBank Stadium, after all − Pavia is taking the same mentality into the matchup Saturday (11 a.m. CT, ABC).

Clark Lea of Vanderbilt football was named SEC Coach of the Year by the league's coaches, the SEC announced Wednesday. Diego Pavia also added on his third SEC Newcomer of the Year award, after previously winning the award from the Associated Press and the USA TODAY Network.

Diego Pavia has earned some big time recognition once again. The latest accolade for the quarterback came on Tuesday as he was named the SEC co-newcomer of the year. In his first season at Vanderbilt,