ESPN has played a major role in Diego Pavia’s mother becoming a star, and one of the network’s own analysts seems a bit annoyed by that.
Pavia’s mother, Antoinette Padilla, has been shown throughout the season at Vanderbilt games cheering on the quarterback. Padilla has embraced the attention and is often seen wearing custom outfits that to support her son. ESPN showed Padilla dancing and doing the Heisman Trophy pose during Vanderbilt’s blowout win over Kentucky last week, and that clip was viewed millions of times.
ESPN analyst and former NFL wide receiver Joey Galloway discussed the coverage of Padilla during the latest episode of his and Kirk Hebstreit’s “Nonstop with Kirk & Joey” podcast, which was released on Monday. Galloway asked Herbstreit, who is ESPN’s lead college football game analyst, if there is a camera fixated on Pavia’s mother for the entirety of games.
“I was just wondering, just a question. Not saying it gets on my nerves, just asking a question,” Galloway said. “Is there a camera man sitting there the entire game like this?”
Galloway initially claimed the coverage has not bothered him, but he then made his stance clear when he jokingly asked Herbstreit to “put in a request” for ESPN to show Padilla less.
“Not every play. I love the story,” Galloway said. “I love the family. It’s great … not every play.”
“Not saying it gets on my nerves just asking a question” 🤣 ~ @Joey_Galloway #nonstop pic.twitter.com/k14U5hMC7A
— Kirk Herbstreit (@KirkHerbstreit) November 24, 2025
ESPN clearly makes an effort to show Padilla often, which is smart given how much attention she has gotten from fans all year. Comedian Theo Von has helped fuel that fire with the way he has flirted with Padilla all season.
As long as fans continue to show interest in Padilla, ESPN will probably continue to have a camera on her during Vanderbilt games.
