Former New Orleans Saint Mark Ingram Responds to Pavia’s Heisman Comment
(103.3 The Goat) - The Heisman race for 2025 is done, but there's still a little drama left in the tank. Fernando Mendoza took home the Heisman trophy after helping lead Indiana to the College Football Playoffs with an undefeated 13-0 record.
The fact that only a few years ago Indiana wasn't even in the stadium, much less on the rankings says a lot about the coach Curt Cignetti who turned the team around after transferring from James Madison University (who coincidentally is also in the playoffs this year). With an overall record of 143 and 37, he played a huge part in Indiana getting where they are. Fernando Mendoza transferred from California for the 2025 season and from all appearances, made the right decision.
What Did Diego Pavia Say After Losing in Heisman Voting?
Along with Mendoza, Julian Sayin, Jeremiyah Love and Diego Pavia were the finalists this year. After the results were announced, Pavia took to social media to express his disappointment in the results, but probably could have thought twice before sending to tweak the message. Two letters made a big impact, F and U...and not to just those who didn't vote for him, but the entire voting panel.
As the TMZ video explains, he went on to apologize to the Heisman voting committee for the statement and congratulating Mendoza and Indianapolis for the success. It's understandable to be built up all season as a Heisman contender only to miss out by a fraction. It also shines a light on social media that allows people to speak without fully considering any ramifications resulting from what was said.
What Mark Ingram Had to Say About Pavia
Former New Orleans Saint Mark Ingram was recently on a podcast and addressed the statement from Pavia who shared a unique perspective on the whole ordeal.
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As a voting member of the Heisman committee, he brought up a few key points. First, not everyone put him second or lower in the rankings as 189 people selected him as first, so giving the big F-U to the entire voting committee might have been a little excessive. Also, one of the things about being a Heisman winner is that you get to be on the voting committee, and Ingram made a light-hearted point to say it's okay if Pavia F-Us him, because
My trophy's sittin' right there
We're hoping Pavia learns from this experience as having that level of recognition comes with a level of respect and understanding. Individuals who are otherwise talented can make or break their careers with their actions off the field. Just ask Johnny Manzielshedurs and more recently Shedur Sanders who dropped in the NFL draft rankings significantly because of public appearance. According to Sporting News, Some damage has already been done. Only time and a solid PR campaign will be able to potentially salvage his NFL draft stock.
NFL Records Held By New Orleans Saints Players
Gallery Credit: Scott Prather
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