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if you are a Vanderbilt Football fans – or if you’ve been to a Vanderbilt football game this season – there’s a good chance you’re familiar with the quarterback Diego Pavia‘s mother.
Antoinette Padilla She’s been in the stands supporting her son all season, and the TV cameras have found her in a funny way. ESPN frequently cut into the stands as the Commodores defeated Kentucky 45-17 on Saturday, Nov. 22, to improve to 9-2, with a cowboy-booted Padilla dancing, cheering and setting social media on fire.
While she has a lot of fans, ESPN college football analysts don’t seem to think so. Joey Galloway It’s one of them.
“Were there cameras on Pavia’s mother throughout the game?” he asked his companions ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit On Monday, November 24, their “nonstop” Podcast. “I just wonder. Just a question. Not that it upsets me. Just asking a question. “
Galloway, 54, added: “Can you make a request… Not every show. I love this story. I love this family. Not every show.”
The moms of Donna Kelce, Wilma McNabb and more pro football players were their sons’ No. 1 fans long before the NFL days. The mother of Travis Kelce and Jason Kelce was thrust into the spotlight ahead of Super Bowl LLVII in February 2023, which marked the first time the brothers faced off in a championship game. (…)
Galloway is not alone. As one Tennessee fan wrote via X during the game, he found her “more insufferable than her son,” which is no small thing considering the Volunteers and Commodores are fierce in-state rivals.
Padilla made headlines before the game when she attended Vanderbilt University’s Senior Day ceremony with her son, accompanying comedian Theo Feng. Their relationship dates back to September, when Pavia, 23, jokingly promised Vaughn, 45, that he would date his mother if Vanderbilt beat South Carolina. The Commodores won the game 31-7.
Vaughn appeared on the SEC Network’s game broadcast, where he discussed the possibility of marrying Padilla, a nurse.
“My goal is that one day I want to marry a nurse,” he said. “I don’t even know if I would do it. I love being (Pavia’s) friend. I don’t want to end up being his stepdad or anything.”
After the Kentucky game, Vaughn Bring to X To clarify that he and Padilla are not an item.
“Never dated, but certainly formed a friendship with the greatest family in college sports!” he wrote. “God bless Pavia!”
Padilla and Vaughn had plenty to celebrate Saturday as Pavia had the game of his life against the Wildcats. He threw for five touchdowns and set a Vanderbilt single-game passing record with 484 yards.
He has previously credited his mother with instilling the work ethic that made him a legitimate candidate to win the Heisman Trophy.
“My mom, she was a hard hat, a lunch pail. She grew up in a home with 13 brothers and sisters,” Pavia told Competitor 2024.
Pavia said he didn’t realize until he was older that the nights Padilla said she wasn’t hungry or had a small dinner were actually to make sure all her children had enough food.
The Commodores will close out the regular season at Tennessee on Saturday, November 29th. A win would put Pavia and Vanderbilt in a dominant position in the College Football Playoff race.
