Colorado football coach Deion Sanders is publicly rooting for Diego Pavia to have a chance at a professional football career, either in the NFL or somewhere else.
The former Vanderbilt football quarterback was not selected in one of the seven rounds and 257 picks in the 2026 NFL Draft, and has yet to be signed by one of the 32 NFL teams as an undrafted free agent.
"I believe in you my man! Stay strong and don't let up," Sanders wrote on X (formerly Twitter). "Show them what time it is and never allow them to forget. Much love & God bless you."
@diegopavia02 “I BELIEVE IN YOU MY MAN! Stay strong and don’t let up. Show them what time it is and never allow them to forget. Much Love & God bless you. #PRIME
More: Did Diego Pavia sign with NFL team? Latest news on undrafted free agent's status
Sanders has first-hand experience of seeing a player slide down the NFL draft board, and likely is speaking to that in his tweet to Pavia, as his son, Shedeur Sanders, fell out of the first round and all the way down to the fifth round in the 2025 NFL Draft before the Cleveland Browns selected him.
With Red Murdock being selected as Mr. Irrelevant, i.e., the last player selected in the draft, on Saturday by the Denver Broncos, Pavia became the first Heisman Trophy finalist not to be chosen in the NFL draft since Northern Illinois quarterback Jordan Lynch in 2014.
He was ranked the No. 12 quarterback on ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr.'s big board.
NFL UNDRAFTED FREE AGENTS: Tracking signings for all 32 teams
103. New York Jets: DT Darrell Jackson Jr., Florida State
104. Arizona Cardinals: DT Kaleb Proctor, Southeastern Louisiana
105. Los Angeles Chargers: WR Brenen Thompson, Mississippi State
107. San Francisco 49ers: DT Gracen Halton, Oklahoma
116. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: CB Keionte Scott, Miami (FL)
117. Los Angeles Chargers: OT Travis Burke, Memphis
119. Jacksonville Jaguars: Edge Wesley Williams, Duke
1 / 19All the picks from Rounds 4 to 7 on Day 3 of the 2026 NFL Draft101. Las Vegas Raiders: CB Jermod McCoy, Tennessee
103. New York Jets: DT Darrell Jackson Jr., Florida State
104. Arizona Cardinals: DT Kaleb Proctor, Southeastern Louisiana
105. Los Angeles Chargers: WR Brenen Thompson, Mississippi State