| Indiana Hoosiers–No. 15 | |
|---|---|
| Position | Quarterback |
| Class |  Junior |
| Personal information | |
| Born | October 1, 2003 Miami, Florida, U.S. |
| Height | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) |
| Weight | 225 lb (102 kg) |
| Career history | |
| College |
|
| High school | Christopher Columbus (Miami) |
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 in Miami, Florida, [2] and is 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. [3] He originally committed to play college football at Yale University before deciding to flip to the University of California, Berkeley. [4]
Mendoza redshirted during the 2022 season.
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 transfer portal. [13]
On December 23, 2024, Mendoza announced he would transfer to Indiana. [14]
| Season | Team | Games | Passing | Rushing | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Record | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Avg | 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 | 2 |
| 2025 | Indiana | 8 | 8 | 8−0 | 148 | 203 | 72.9 | 1,923 | 9.5 | 24 | 3 | 188.5 | 46 | 196 | 4.3 | 3 |
| Career | 27 | 26 | 16–10 | 566 | 832 | 68.0 | 6,635 | 8.0 | 54 | 19 | 151.9 | 182 | 387 | 2.1 | 7 | |
Mendoza has a younger brother, Alberto, who serves as backup quarterback behind him for Indiana. [15] [16]