Diego Pavia is betting on himself ahead of the NFL Scouting Combine.
During an appearance on the Glory Daze podcast, the Vanderbilt product accepted a bet offer from Johnny Manziel that he wouldn’t run a faster 40-yard dash time than the former Texas A&M star’s 4.68 mark.
Pavia offered a counter that he would be faster than Manziel in the shuttle, and they agreed to bet $1,000 on each.
While they attended different SEC schools, Manziel has been mentoring Pavia as the Vanderbilt star navigates the spotlight of college football and preparation for the NFL draft. Manziel was a Heisman Trophy winner in college but never lived up to expectations as a first-round NFL draft pick.
He went 2-6 as a starter and eventually found himself out of the league after issues with the law and off the field.
“I’m like, ‘Learn from my mistakes, brother. Learn from Johnny. Don’t be Johnny off the field,'” Manziel said when explaining his mentorship of Pavia, per Chris Low of On 3.
Manziel was a first-round draft pick with high expectations in the NFL, but Pavia likely won’t find himself in that situation. He was not included in the most recent first-round mock draft from B/R’s NFL Scouting Department and was the No. 192 overall player and No. 10 quarterback in the most recent big board of prospects.
There are concerns about his height, consistency and deep throws, and it wouldn’t be surprising if he wasn’t drafted at all.
However, he could change that with an impressive performance at the combine.
And he could make a little money off Manziel as well.