Who is Fernando Mendoza? The NFL Draft sensation no one could have predicted

Mendoza Mania has arrived successful the NFL.

The projected No. 1 wide prime successful this year's draft, Fernando Mendoza brings 1 of football's astir unexpected stories to the pros.

Legendary shot cause Leigh Steinberg, who has represented an NFL-record 8 archetypal wide draught picks, believes what sets Mendoza isolated from the different hyped prospects is his words.

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"The mode helium relates to people," Steinberg said was the astir unsocial portion astir Mendoza, successful an interrogation with Fox News Digital.

"He seems to person a truly bully interaction successful dealing with teammates. It seems to beryllium a earthy leader. He relates good successful interviews. He relates good successful everything. And so, the occupation of a franchise backmost is to correspond the franchise, and helium becomes the astir disposable look of a franchise. And you know, he's handsome. He speaks well, and I deliberation he's benignant of an perfect typical oregon spokesperson for the team."

How did a kid from Florida who cognize 1 saw coming go a Heisman Trophy winner, nationalist champion, and the NFL's adjacent large thing?

Mendoza's grandparents fled communist Cuba

The crushed Fernando Mendoza is successful the U.S. and making his people connected shot past is due to the fact that of a bold determination by his grandparents decades ago.

After Fidel Castro seized power of Cuba and installed a communist regime, each 4 of Mendoza's grandparents fled the state and came to America.

"We each thought it was temporary," Mendoza's maternal gramps Alberto Espino antecedently told The Washington Post of the "There was nary mode the United States would let a communist authorities 90 miles away."

But Castro's reign endured, truthful Espino and the Mendozas remained successful the U.S. and built their beingness arsenic Americans. That meant American sports.

Mendoza's parents were prima athletes

Both of his parents grew up successful Miami, Florida arsenic the children of Cuban refugees.

Mendoza's father, Fernando Mendoza Sr., was a rower astatine Brown University and a 1987 Junior World Championships golden medalist.

But Mendoza's begetter besides played shot erstwhile helium was younger, and was teammates with Miami Hurricanes caput manager Mario Cristobal astatine Christopher Columbus High School during the 1980s. Mendoza would spell connected to decision his father's erstwhile teammate successful this year's CFP nationalist title game.

Meanwhile, his mother, Elsa Mendoza, played tennis astatine the University of Miami.

When Mendoza was a child, his parent was diagnosed with a superior disease

Mendoza was calved successful Boston successful 2003 arsenic the archetypal of his parents' 3 children, earlier his household moved backmost to Miami, Florida wherever helium would turn up.

But erstwhile Mendoza was lone astir 4 years old, his parent was diagnosed with aggregate sclerosis. It's a chronic, autoimmune illness of the cardinal tense strategy that tin impact the encephalon and spinal cord. She has spent the past fewer years successful a wheelchair.

Elsa Mendoza wrote astir the acquisition successful a 2015 missive to her sons that was published successful The Player's Tribune.

"I was diagnosed astir 18 years ago, but of people you ne'er knew that. You and Alberto were truthful young, and I was doing fine….. and mostly I didn’t privation you to worry. It conscionable felt similar this intolerable happening to spot connected you guys. On my saccharine boys. And past I kept doing good until astir 10 years ago, erstwhile we went skiing and I broke my ankle and knee," she wrote.

"But adjacent aft that, I wasn’t rather acceptable to archer you — lone that my limb hadn’t healed each the way, which is wherefore your ma had her limp. It wasn’t until 5 years ago, erstwhile I got Covid, that things started to spell downhill successful a mode wherever determination was nary much hiding it. It was during shot season, and I realized I wasn’t going to beryllium capable to travel. And the thought of you wondering if I supported you immoderate less, due to the fact that abruptly I wasn’t astatine your games? I hated that. So that’s erstwhile I knew we had to beryllium you and your member down."

She went connected to recall, "how hard of a speech it ended up being. 'Your ma has this degenerative illness … and portion we don’t cognize however it volition progress, it’s going to commencement to impact america successful a fewer ways. But it won’t impact america successful the ways that matter. We’ll person each other, and emotion each other, and beryllium determination for each other. I promise.'"

He grew up Catholic, and went to an elite Catholic school

As a young boy, Mendoza would stitchery mangoes from his grandparents' gait and merchantability them door-to-door to his neighbors.

Indiana backmost Fernando Mendoza looks to propulsion a walk during the school's NFL pro time successful Bloomington, Indiana, connected April 1, 2026. (AJ Mast/AP Photo)

Not lone did helium clasp capitalism arsenic a young man, but helium besides embraced Catholicism.

He aboriginal followed successful his father's footsteps of playing shot astatine Christopher Columbus High School — an elite, $18,000-a-year all-boys backstage Catholic schoolhouse with a shot program.

As the team's starting backmost his elder year, helium led his squad to an 11-3 grounds and the 2021 FHSAA Class 8A authorities semifinals.

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But it wasn't capable to gain the affection of galore assemblage scouts.

As a two-star recruit, Mendoza was ranked the 2,149th-ranked enlistee successful the state successful his precocious schoolhouse class. He didn't person a azygous FBS assistance offer.

He passed connected Yale for Cal Berkeley

With constricted offers retired of college, Mendoza astir accepted an Ivy League acquisition and non-scholarship shot spot astatine Yale. But instead, helium went crossed the state to effort his luck astatine California, Berkeley.

He wasn't handed the starting occupation connected time one; instead, helium redshirted, studied the game, and softly earned his concern grade from the prestigious Haas School of Business successful conscionable 3 years.

As a quarterback, helium earned the starting occupation successful 2023 and 2024, becoming Cal’s all-time person successful completion percent (66.4%) and tying for 7th successful 250-yard passing games.

California Golden Bears backmost Fernando Mendoza stands connected the tract aft the crippled against the Arizona Wildcats astatine FTX Field astatine California Memorial Stadium successful Berkeley, Calif., connected Sept. 24, 2022. (Darren Yamashita/USA TODAY Sports)

But his assemblage shot vocation hadn't adjacent truly begun.

The Indiana decision

In 2025, Mendoza made the determination to transportation to Indiana. What followed is considered 1 of the astir improbable runs successful assemblage shot history.

He threw for 3,535 yards, 41 touchdowns, and lone 6 interceptions, completing implicit 72% of his passes, portion besides adding 7 rushing touchdowns, and won the Heisman Trophy.

"It's precise often not until the extremity of their [college] vocation that they amusement precisely those qualities. So a batch of maturation happened," Steinberg said of Mendoza's senior-year surge. "There person been a fig of players who were precocious bloomers... you're getting them astatine the tallness of their arc, and they enactment it each together. It takes clip to work defenses and spot the field."

Then erstwhile the playoffs started, helium cemented his sanction successful assemblage shot history. He threw 8 touchdowns with lone 5 incompletions successful the archetypal playoff games against Alabama successful the Rose Bowl and Oregon successful the Fiesta Bowl.

In the nationalist title game, played successful his location municipality of Miami against his hometown assemblage Miami Hurricanes, helium was named the CFP National Championship Offensive Player of the Game, delivering a important 12-yard fourth-quarter touchdown tally to seal the title.

Indiana Hoosiers backmost Fernando Mendoza holds up the trophy aft the College Football Playoff National Championship crippled astatine Hard Rock Stadium successful Miami Gardens, Fla., connected Jan. 19, 2026. (Mark J. Rebilas/Imagn Images)

Indiana became the archetypal clip successful modern assemblage shot past to spell a cleanable 16-0 down Mendoza's leadership, making a lawsuit for 1 of the top CFB backmost seasons ever.

Now the existent enactment begins

With the Las Vegas Raiders acceptable to prime archetypal successful the NFL Draft this year, Mendoza appears destined for Sin City.

Steinberg believes the acceptable volition enactment retired good shot omniscient and concern wise.

"He's a cleanable prime for the Raiders due to the fact that he's idiosyncratic they tin physique a franchise around. He seems to person the due enactment skills and motivational quality to pb a team. He's precocious character, he's got carnal size. He's got large limb strength. He's indicated a fig of times that helium tin bring the squad backmost successful captious circumstances," Steinberg said.

"As a selling proposition, Las Vegas is the hottest sports municipality arsenic determination is successful America... It's a bully situation to beryllium successful with supportive fans and companies for sponsorships and endorsements."

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Mendoza has already filed 12 trademark applications. These filings see his name, "Fernando Mendoza," "Mendoza," "Flippin'," and "HE15MENDOZA," aimed astatine covering diversion apparel and merchandising.

"By picking 12 antithetic areas, that beauteous overmuch covered the field. And that means that cipher tin spell up and enactment unneurotic distinctive Mendoza [merchandise] without dealing with him," Steinberg said.

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