Once upon a time, a portly Mexican pitcher took Los Angeles by storm. In 1981, the late Fernando Valenzuela won both the Rookie of the Year and Cy Young Awards, and his team, the Dodgers, won the World Series in that same year. Now some 45 years later, “FernandoMania” has surfaced again, albeit in football not baseball, by a young collegiate athlete who had a season for the ages.
Fernando Mendoza is the celebrated 6′-5″, 220 pound quarterback for the Indiana Hoosiers. Not only did his school enjoy an unbeaten 16-0 season during the 2025-26 campaign, they won the National Championship for the first time ever. The title game, played at the Orange Bowl in Miami, was full of irony. The Hoosier’s opponent was the Miami Hurricanes, basically making it a home game for the latter school. But Mendoza grew up in Miami and scored the winning touchdown in the 27-21 thriller.
As for personal achievements on the season, Fernando was the AP College Player of the Year as well as the Heisman Trophy Award winner. He is also widely expected to be the first athlete selected in the 2026 NFL draft by the Las Vegas Raiders, a team partially owned by Mendoza’s personal idol Tom Brady. However, the 22 year old super star was diplomatic in his approach about the selection process.
“It would be an honor to be picked by any team,” he said in typical humble fashion. “It would be a blessing to have the opportunity to play at the next level.”
In the real world of self-serving personalities and public figures, it’s totally understandable for fans to be somewhat “non-believers” that Mendoza is the real deal, perhaps the modern day Tim Tebow. In all fairness, the kid would be the first to admit that he’s far from perfect. But as he goes about his daily life, Fernando just seems to do what’s natural to him, and the road to success hasn’t always been without a few potholes along the way.
Mendoza spent the first three years of his college gridiron career as a Cal Berkeley Golden Bear, and he enjoyed some positive reviews. For whatever reason however, something attracted him to transfer in his senior year to Indiana, a school most noted for its basketball dominance, and play for head coach Curt Cignetti. A young man of deep Catholic faith, Mendoza was allowed to use his leadership skills to bring the entire Hoosier team together, regardless of race, creed or color. And it worked on a team that had a losing record in the previous season. Fernando also had to consult his parents before making his decision, and his mother who is wheel chair bound with Multiple Sclerosis. And while both sets of grandparents were born and raised in Cuba, Fernando admits to being a bit less than proficient in Spanish. I recall a similar issue with Mark Sanchez when he played for the New York Jets. None the less, Mendoza met the challenge and previously spent an entire summer in Cuba with his younger brother to learn the language and culture.
While his mental game is top notch, Mendoza has an edge physically as well. His towering frame is an asset with a quick release, rocket-like arm. And while the running speed is average at best, his strength and agility more than make up for it. With Indiana knocking on the door in its final drive, a chip shot field goal would have been a safe bet. Instead, Coach Cignetti called Mendoza’s number and the quarterback weaved through traffic before diving head first into the end zone to put the game on ice.
It will be interesting to see if the Raiders, who were horrible last season, decide to gamble and build their team around Mendoza. But if Brady and company decide to take that giant leap of faith, you can bet that many fans in Sin City will be going to confession a bit more often.
