Indiana football quarterback Fernando Mendoza burst onto the scene this season. Leading the Hoosiers to an 11-0 record as the No. 2-ranked team in the country, Mendoza is creating headlines every week. His 30 touchdowns lead the nation, and he has wowed with a 73% completion rate to accompany a 184.8 rating while embarking on a path to a Heisman Trophy bid. Despite Mendoza's on-field success, it was almost for not, until head coach Curt Cignetti sat down with the quarterback to convince him to join the Hoosiers.
On Monday, Mendoza shared Cignetti's recruitment pitch that drew him to Indiana while listening to offers in the transfer portal.
“Coach Cignetti really was selling me on, ‘Hey, I don’t know exactly, I don’t have a crystal ball,” Mendoza said on The Pat McAfee Show. “I don’t know what’s going to happen with this season, but I promise you if you come to my school instead of the other schools, you're going to be the best Fernando Mendoza quarterback that you could become.’ And at that point, I was sold. I’m like, let’s go, I’m ready to be a Hoosier.”
Mendoza was a hot commodity in the transfer portal. Fielding offers from the UCLA Bruins, Wisconsin Badgers, and his hometown Georgia Bulldogs, Mendoza's decision to buy into Cignetti's promise is paying dividends. Mendoza is the favorite to win the Heisman with -115 current odds, according to BetMGM. The junior is also shooting up draft boards and is now projected to be a first-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Although Indiana's season is not yet finished, Cignetti and Mendoza's commitment to each other has made for a remarkable story.
