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https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/70...o-mendoza-2026-nfl-draft-indiana-development/
How did Fernando Mendoza go from being rated a two-star recruit once ranked the 140th-best quarterback in the Class of 2022 to a Heisman Trophy winner — and the projected first pick of the 2026 NFL Draft?
And how did he do it so quickly?
In two seasons at Cal, as the starter in 2024 and in significant action in 2023, Mendoza threw 30 touchdowns and 16 interceptions to go 10-10 overall. He ranked No. 36 in passer rating in 2024.
But Hoosiers head coach Curt Cignetti was intrigued. He had signed Mendoza’s younger brother, Alberto, at James Madison before taking the job in Bloomington in 2024.
“Special family,” Cignetti said. “They were all high achievers.”
Cignetti, a self-described “tape junkie,” liked what he saw from Mendoza on film: his arm, his mobility, his stature. The 64-year-old believed that Mendoza would follow a similar arc as his other standout QBs: “Not great the first half of spring, a lot better in the second half of spring, they have a good summer. Fall camp, different player. Better at the end of fall camp, and then they build on their success early in the season, and they just get better and better and better, because with success comes belief, and with belief comes confidence.”
:
“However, Coach Cignetti really sold me on, we’re going to develop you,” Mendoza said. The quarterback recalled Cignetti’s pitch: “‘I don’t have a crystal ball. I can’t tell if we’re going to be top 25 in the nation, No. 1, or outside of that top 25. However, I know that I develop quarterbacks. It’s what I do.’
“With the help of Coach Whitmer, who’s been phenomenal, Coach (Mike) Shanahan and Coach Cignetti, I’ve been able to develop into that quarterback, and made that exponential jump this year that I was aspiring to,” Mendoza said. “I really am thankful that he sold me on developing Fernando as the quarterback. That’s one of the things that made me decide on this school. I want to be the best quarterback that I can control. It goes back to the concepts of controlling the controllables and staying in the present moment.”
:
Mendoza lived three miles from Florida International University and begged the Panthers to take him, said Akron offensive line coach Joel Rodriguez, FIU’s O-line coach at the time.
“Our QB coach, who is no longer a coach in college football, kept saying ‘no.’ (Mendoza) wasn’t big enough, strong enough, fast enough or whatever. He was like what he is now, except 20 pounds lighter and goofier. But he had beaten Miami Northwestern (High) and (Miami) Central, and that holds weight,” Rodriguez said. “I have legitimate memories from talking to Jason Hill, the recruiting guy at Columbus, and Dave Dunn, the head coach, and they were like, ‘What the hell are you guys thinking?’ I said, ‘I wish I could tell you.’ It wouldn’t have mattered anyway.”
“At that point in my journey, I’m not going to lie and say I was a five-star prospect,” Mendoza said two days before the national title game, played in the city he grew up in, against Miami, the team he grew up rooting for. “I was a two-star prospect. I sucked; like, I was not very good.
“It’s a part of the journey, and a lot of kids get wrapped up in the identity: ‘Oh, that’s who I am.’ At that point, you can still improve. I was a two-star then, and now I hope I’ve been better than a two-star playing there. It’s only a little mark, a little identification, just because college recruiting is so tough nowadays.
“However, it’s your decision at that point on how you’re going to have that work ethic and how you’re going to develop as a player to get better and better every single day. A lot of our players (at Indiana) that are three- and four-stars that have all those great stats have really put in the work ethic and changed their mindset and not let themselves fall into the trap that that’s their identity.”
Whitmer, recalling his three seasons on the Chargers’ staff, likened Mendoza’s mentality to that of Los Angeles quarterback Justin Herbert.
“They’re very similar because they’re both perfectionists,” he said. “Both Type A. Super-high academic guys. Very intellectual. They want to know every detail. They’ll ask all the hard questions. They’re both tremendous human beings and obviously high-level talents.”
“The biggest area of development from 2024 to 2025 was Mendoza’s ability to play on time with better consistency,” said The Athletic’s NFL Draft analyst Dane Brugler. “He showed poise and clutch moments at Cal, but had the bad habit of rushing his process. That was mostly a product of poor protection and a subpar offensive system.
“Before Mendoza ever took a snap at Indiana, he was in the first round of my way-too-early mock draft last April. His accuracy, processing and ability to layer throws formed an outstanding foundation, and there was the hope that he would only get better with Cignetti.”
He did.
How did Fernando Mendoza go from being rated a two-star recruit once ranked the 140th-best quarterback in the Class of 2022 to a Heisman Trophy winner — and the projected first pick of the 2026 NFL Draft?
And how did he do it so quickly?
In two seasons at Cal, as the starter in 2024 and in significant action in 2023, Mendoza threw 30 touchdowns and 16 interceptions to go 10-10 overall. He ranked No. 36 in passer rating in 2024.
But Hoosiers head coach Curt Cignetti was intrigued. He had signed Mendoza’s younger brother, Alberto, at James Madison before taking the job in Bloomington in 2024.
“Special family,” Cignetti said. “They were all high achievers.”
Cignetti, a self-described “tape junkie,” liked what he saw from Mendoza on film: his arm, his mobility, his stature. The 64-year-old believed that Mendoza would follow a similar arc as his other standout QBs: “Not great the first half of spring, a lot better in the second half of spring, they have a good summer. Fall camp, different player. Better at the end of fall camp, and then they build on their success early in the season, and they just get better and better and better, because with success comes belief, and with belief comes confidence.”
:
“However, Coach Cignetti really sold me on, we’re going to develop you,” Mendoza said. The quarterback recalled Cignetti’s pitch: “‘I don’t have a crystal ball. I can’t tell if we’re going to be top 25 in the nation, No. 1, or outside of that top 25. However, I know that I develop quarterbacks. It’s what I do.’
“With the help of Coach Whitmer, who’s been phenomenal, Coach (Mike) Shanahan and Coach Cignetti, I’ve been able to develop into that quarterback, and made that exponential jump this year that I was aspiring to,” Mendoza said. “I really am thankful that he sold me on developing Fernando as the quarterback. That’s one of the things that made me decide on this school. I want to be the best quarterback that I can control. It goes back to the concepts of controlling the controllables and staying in the present moment.”
:
Mendoza’s feel-good journey
Even though he grew up in a talent hotbed in South Florida, Mendoza was an afterthought to most college programs. He had some FCS offers after his junior season at Miami’s Columbus High. He committed to Yale before his senior year, then eventually signed with Cal.Mendoza lived three miles from Florida International University and begged the Panthers to take him, said Akron offensive line coach Joel Rodriguez, FIU’s O-line coach at the time.
“Our QB coach, who is no longer a coach in college football, kept saying ‘no.’ (Mendoza) wasn’t big enough, strong enough, fast enough or whatever. He was like what he is now, except 20 pounds lighter and goofier. But he had beaten Miami Northwestern (High) and (Miami) Central, and that holds weight,” Rodriguez said. “I have legitimate memories from talking to Jason Hill, the recruiting guy at Columbus, and Dave Dunn, the head coach, and they were like, ‘What the hell are you guys thinking?’ I said, ‘I wish I could tell you.’ It wouldn’t have mattered anyway.”
“At that point in my journey, I’m not going to lie and say I was a five-star prospect,” Mendoza said two days before the national title game, played in the city he grew up in, against Miami, the team he grew up rooting for. “I was a two-star prospect. I sucked; like, I was not very good.
“It’s a part of the journey, and a lot of kids get wrapped up in the identity: ‘Oh, that’s who I am.’ At that point, you can still improve. I was a two-star then, and now I hope I’ve been better than a two-star playing there. It’s only a little mark, a little identification, just because college recruiting is so tough nowadays.
“However, it’s your decision at that point on how you’re going to have that work ethic and how you’re going to develop as a player to get better and better every single day. A lot of our players (at Indiana) that are three- and four-stars that have all those great stats have really put in the work ethic and changed their mindset and not let themselves fall into the trap that that’s their identity.”
Whitmer, recalling his three seasons on the Chargers’ staff, likened Mendoza’s mentality to that of Los Angeles quarterback Justin Herbert.
“They’re very similar because they’re both perfectionists,” he said. “Both Type A. Super-high academic guys. Very intellectual. They want to know every detail. They’ll ask all the hard questions. They’re both tremendous human beings and obviously high-level talents.”
“The biggest area of development from 2024 to 2025 was Mendoza’s ability to play on time with better consistency,” said The Athletic’s NFL Draft analyst Dane Brugler. “He showed poise and clutch moments at Cal, but had the bad habit of rushing his process. That was mostly a product of poor protection and a subpar offensive system.
“Before Mendoza ever took a snap at Indiana, he was in the first round of my way-too-early mock draft last April. His accuracy, processing and ability to layer throws formed an outstanding foundation, and there was the hope that he would only get better with Cignetti.”
He did.