| No. 15 – Indiana Hoosiers | |||||||||||||||||
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| Position | Quarterback | ||||||||||||||||
| Class |  | ||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
| Born | October 1, 2003 Miami, Florida, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | ||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 225 lb (102 kg) | ||||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||||
| High school | Christopher Columbus (Miami) | ||||||||||||||||
| College |
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| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||||||
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| Career statistics as of Week 14, 2025 | |||||||||||||||||
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| 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 was born October 1, 2003, in Miami, Florida as the grandson of Cuban immigrants. [1] He 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. [2] He originally committed to play college football at Yale University before deciding to flip to the University of California, Berkeley. [3] He graduated with a bachelor's degree in business administration from Berkeley's Haas School of Business in 2025. [4]
Mendoza redshirted during the 2022 season.[ citation needed ]
Mendoza earned his first career start in week 6 of the 2023 season against Oregon State. [5] He completed 21 of 32 pass attempts for 207 yards and two touchdowns with an interception in a loss to the Beavers. [6] The following week, Mendoza went 10 of 17 passing for 149 yards, two touchdowns and an interception in a loss to Utah. [7] Mendoza was named the team's starting quarterback heading forward. [8] [9] In eight starts as a redshirt freshman, Mendoza 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. [10]
Entering the 2024 season, Mendoza won the starting quarterback job for Cal, beating graduate transfer Chandler Rogers. [11] In Week 2 against Auburn, Mendoza completed 25 of 36 passes for 233 yards and two touchdowns, leading the Bears to an upset win over the Tigers. [12] 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. [13]
On December 23, 2024, Mendoza announced he would transfer to Indiana. [14]
He was named MVP of the 2025 Big Ten Championship Game against Ohio State. [15] He has been announced to be one of the 4 Heisman Trophy finalists, along with Julian Sayin, Diego Pavia, and Jeremiyah Love.
| 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 | |
Mendoza has a younger brother, Alberto, who serves as backup quarterback behind him for Indiana. [16] [17] 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". [18] 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 search of a better life. 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 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.” [19] [20]