Fernando Mendoza

Fernando Mendoza
No. 15 – Indiana Hoosiers
PositionQuarterback
Class Junior
Personal information
Born (2003-10-01) October 1, 2003
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Height6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Weight225 lb (102 kg)
Career information
High schoolChristopher Columbus (Miami)
College
Awards and highlights
Stats at ESPN

Fernando Mendoza V[1] (born October 1, 2003) is an American college football quarterback for the Indiana Hoosiers. He previously played for the California Golden Bears. Mendoza won the Heisman Trophy as a member of the Hoosiers in 2025, becoming the first winner in program history.

Early life

Mendoza was born October 1, 2003, in Boston, Massachusetts and was raised in Miami, Florida.[2][3]

High School

Mendoza attended Christopher Columbus High School in Miami. As a quarterback on the football team, Mendoza completed 133 of his 203 pass attempts for 1,396 yards and 16 touchdowns with four interceptions, while also adding 137 yards and a touchdown on the ground.[4] He originally committed to play college football at Yale University before deciding to flip to the University of California, Berkeley.[5] He graduated with a bachelor's degree in business administration from Berkeley's Haas School of Business in 2025.[6]

College career

California

Mendoza redshirted during the 2022 season.[7] He earned his first career start in week six of the 2023 season against Oregon State.[8] Mendoza completed 21 of 32 pass attempts for 207 yards and two touchdowns with an interception in a loss to the Beavers.[9] The following week, he went 10 of 17 passing for 149 yards, two touchdowns and an interception in a loss to Utah.[10] Mendoza was named the team's starting quarterback heading forward.[11][12] In eight starts as a redshirt freshman, he completed 63 percent of his passes for 1,708 yards and 14 touchdowns, leading the Golden Bears to a 6-7 record and an Independence Bowl appearance.[13]

Entering the 2024 season, Mendoza won the starting quarterback job for Cal, beating graduate transfer Chandler Rogers.[14] In week two against Auburn, Mendoza completed 25 of 36 passes for 233 yards and two touchdowns, leading the Bears to an upset win over the Tigers.[15] Mendoza was named ACC quarterback of the week in back-to-back games against Oregon State and Wake Forest, setting career highs in passing yards and completions. His 56 passing attempts against Wake Forest were the most by a Cal quarterback since 2016. On December 11, 2024, Mendoza announced he would be entering the NCAA transfer portal.[16]

Indiana

On December 23, 2024, Mendoza announced his decision to transfer to Indiana University.[17] He threw for a career-high five passing touchdowns against No. 9 Illinois on 21 of 23 passing with 267 yards.[18] Mendoza threw for a season-high 332 yards on 24 of 28 passing while defeating Michigan State 38–13.[19] In the 2025 Big Ten Championship Game against No. 1 Ohio State, he threw for 222 yards and a touchdown, leading Indiana to a 13–10 victory and their first Big Ten title since 1967.[20] He was named the game's MVP for his performance.[21]

For the 2025 season, Mendoza was named the AP College Football Player of the Year,[22] the winner of the Chicago Tribune Silver Football,[23] and the Walter Camp Player of the Year.[24] He was also the winner of both the Maxwell Award and the Davey O’Brien Award. He was also named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year, Big Ten Quarterback of the Year, and first-team All-Big Ten.[25] He was announced to be one of the four Heisman Trophy finalists, along with Julian Sayin, Diego Pavia, and Jeremiyah Love.[26] He won the Heisman Trophy in 2025.[27]

Statistics

Season Team Games Passing Rushing
GP GS Record Cmp Att Pct Yds Y/A TD Int Rtg Att Yds Avg TD
2022 California Redshirt
2023 California 9 8 3−5 153 243 63.0 1,708 7.0 14 10 132.8 48 92 1.9 2
2024 California 11 11 6−5 265 386 68.7 3,004 7.8 16 4 144.6 87 105 1.2 3
2025 Indiana 13 13 13−0 226 316 71.5 2,980 9.4 33 6 181.4 69 240 3.5 6
Career 33 32 22–10 644 945 68.1 7,692 8.1 63 22 153.9 204 437 2.1 10

Personal life

Mendoza has a younger brother, Alberto, who serves as backup quarterback behind him for Indiana.[28][29] He is outspoken about his Catholic faith, and incorporates daily Mass in his game day routine, as well as coordinating team Bible studies during his time at Indiana, crediting them for building camaraderie among him and his teammates.

Mendoza is a fan of Tom Brady, calling him his "football idol".[30] Mendoza is of Cuban descent, with all 4 of his grandparents being born and raised in Cuba. His grandparents moved from Cuba to Miami in 1959 following the events of the Cuban Revolution.[31] Mendoza cites his Cuban heritage as a major factor for his and his brother's passion as football players, saying in a 2025 interview with Indiana University Bloomington news website Peegs.com "Alberto and I play football not for ourselves, not for fulfillment and satisfaction of ourselves—we have a lot of whys why we do it for. One of the whys is our mom. Another why is our entire family. Our entire family comes from a Cuban background. All of our grandparents were born and raised in Cuba, and that's something we always take deeply to heart.”[32][33]

References

  1. ^ Villa, Walter (October 26, 2021). "Miami Columbus' Cuban-American quarterback finds a role model in Texas A&M star". Miami Herald. Retrieved November 9, 2024.
  2. ^ Osterman, Zach (December 11, 2025). "Sharing rooms, social media and touchdowns, IU's Mendoza brothers bond runs deep". The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved December 12, 2025.
  3. ^ Mendoza, Elsa (December 11, 2025). "Dear Fernando". The Players' Tribune. Retrieved December 12, 2025.
  4. ^ "Fernando Mendoza Football Stats". MaxPreps.com. Retrieved October 28, 2023.
  5. ^ Farudo, Jeff (February 2, 2022). "Cal Football: Quarterback Fernando Mendoza Makes it Official, Signs With Bears". California Golden Bears on SI. SI.com. Retrieved October 28, 2023.
  6. ^ "Fernando Mendoza - Football". Indiana University Athletics. Retrieved December 7, 2025.
  7. ^ Moriarty, Morgan (December 14, 2025). "Fernando Mendoza college timeline: How Indiana QB went from 2-star recruit to Heisman winner". Sporting News. Retrieved December 15, 2025.
  8. ^ Faraudo, Jeff (October 8, 2023). "Quarterback Fernando Mendoza Provides Hope in Cal's 52-40 Loss to OSU". California Golden Bears on SI. SI.com. Retrieved October 28, 2023.
  9. ^ Kroner, Steve (October 8, 2023). "Cal crushed 52-40 by No. 15 Oregon State but finds QB Fernando Mendoza". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved October 28, 2023.
  10. ^ Kroner, Steve (October 27, 2023). "Can Cal's Fernando Mendoza keep pace with No. 24 USC's Caleb Williams?". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved October 28, 2023.
  11. ^ Kroner, Steve (October 8, 2023). "Cal coach commits to start Fernando Mendoza at QB vs. Utah". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved October 28, 2023.
  12. ^ Curtis, Jake (October 25, 2023). "Fernando Mendoza Says He's a Better QB Than He Was 3 Weeks ago". California Golden Bears on SI. SI.com. Retrieved October 28, 2023.
  13. ^ "Fernando Mendoza - Football". California Golden Bears Athletics. Retrieved October 18, 2024.
  14. ^ Rittenberg, Adam (August 31, 2024). "Source: Cal to start QB Mendoza vs. UC Davis". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 18, 2024.
  15. ^ "California 21-20 Auburn (Sep 7, 2024) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved September 7, 2024.
  16. ^ Olson, Max (December 11, 2024). "QB Mendoza entering portal after strong Cal year". ESPN. Retrieved December 11, 2024.
  17. ^ Olson, Max (December 24, 2024). "Sources: Cal transfer QB Mendoza picks Indiana". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 15, 2025.
  18. ^ Marot, Michael (September 21, 2025). "No. 19 Indiana takes control quickly and overwhelms No. 9 Illinois in 63-10 victory". AP News. Retrieved December 15, 2025.
  19. ^ Wilson, Phillip B. (October 18, 2025). "Mendoza throws four TD passes and No. 3 Indiana overwhelms Michigan State 38-13". AP News. Retrieved December 15, 2025.
  20. ^ Rittenberg, Adam (December 7, 2025). "Hoosiers bask in Big Ten title, CFP's No. 1 seed". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 15, 2025.
  21. ^ Crawford, Eric (December 11, 2025). "CRAWFORD | Sleepless in Bloomington: Fernando Mendoza's Heisman moment is here". WDRB. Retrieved December 14, 2025.
  22. ^ Olson, Eric (December 11, 2025). "Fernando Mendoza is AP player of the year after leading Indiana to 13-0 record and top seed in CFP". Retrieved December 11, 2025.
  23. ^ Kane, Colleen (December 9, 2025). "QB Fernando Mendoza is the 2025 Chicago Tribune Silver Football winner — Indiana's 1st winner in 24 years". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved December 11, 2025.
  24. ^ Madera, Mike (December 10, 2025). "Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza Selected 2025 Walter Camp Player of the Year, presented by Crabtree Lexus of New Haven". Retrieved December 11, 2025.
  25. ^ Flick, Daniel (December 4, 2025). "Fernando Mendoza Wins Big Ten Player of Year, Snaps Indiana Football's 24-Year Drought". Indiana Hoosiers on SI. Sports Illustrated. Retrieved December 11, 2025.
  26. ^ Backus, Will (December 10, 2025). "Heisman Trophy finalists 2025: Fernando Mendoza, Diego Pavia, Jeremiyah Love, Julian Sayin headed to New York". CBS Sports. Retrieved December 11, 2025.
  27. ^ Auerbach, Nicole (December 14, 2025). "Fernando Mendoza secures Heisman Trophy, the first in Indiana's history". NBC Sports. Retrieved December 14, 2025.
  28. ^ Niziolek, Michael (September 6, 2025). "Indiana quarterbacks, brothers become first duo in 10 years to accomplish college football feat". The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved September 29, 2025.
  29. ^ Halm, Alexandra (September 26, 2025). "Brothers in Arms: IU's Mendoza Duo". WFIU. Retrieved September 29, 2025.
  30. ^ Glenesk, Matthew; Osterman, Zach (November 17, 2025). "Indiana football QB Fernando Mendoza talks Heisman Trophy, Curt Cignetti". USA TODAY. Retrieved December 15, 2025.
  31. ^ "Family is the Game Plan – Today's Machining World". todaysmachiningworld.com. Retrieved December 14, 2025.
  32. ^ Kelly, Jared (November 19, 2025). "Fernando Mendoza Q&A: Heisman race, playing for Curt Cignetti, development at Indiana, NFL aspirations". 247Sports. Retrieved December 15, 2025.
  33. ^ Forde, Pat (November 21, 2025). "Fernando Mendoza Wasn't Supposed to Take Indiana Football This Far". SI. Retrieved December 15, 2025.
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