Diego Pavia: Alabama football players talked trash during coin toss before Vanderbilt loss

Vanderbilt football made clear during the week leading into its matchup with Alabama that it wasn’t intimidated by the Crimson Tide. According to Commodore quarterback Diego Pavia, that extended to the moments before the 40-35 upset in Nashville.

Meanwhile, the Tide seemed to take VU lightly, at least according to Pavia, who said during a Monday appearance on the Dan Patrick Show that UA’s captains were talking trash during the coin toss.

“They were talking crazy,” Pavia said. “They thought they were gonna come in here and treat us like we were an FCS team? And we were like, “What? You must not know. Alright, we’re gonna see.’ I kept telling them, ‘We’re gonna see, we’re gonna see, we’re gonna see.’ They were talking, laughing. I can’t say it on the show because I can’t curse, but they were talking crazy.”

Alabama’s coin toss contingent includes captains Jalen Milroe, Tyler Booker, Malachi Moore and Deontae Lawson. Moore created a scene later in the game as Vanderbilt was running out the clock, throwing his mouthpiece and kicking the ball after officials spotted it for the Commodore kneeldowns.

The Crimson Tide won the coin toss and deferred.

“When said, you know, ‘We’re taking the ball, they’re kicking off,’ we didn’t even shake their hands after,” Pavia said. “We just took off to the sideline.”

Vanderbilt got ahead by two touchdowns early and never looked back. Pavia was the star of the show for the Commodores, throwing for 252 yards and two touchdowns, and adding another 56 yards on the ground as he orchestrated the VU option attack.

Alabama will be back in action on Saturday as it looks to recover from the Vanderbilt loss against South Carolina. The game is scheduled for 11 a.m. CT in Tuscaloosa and will be aired on ABC.