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By Owen Hillman
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Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza made a personal update to his LinkedIn to make an announcement. He updated his LinkedIn to “Open To Work” to show that he was declaring for the 2026 NFL draft.
Mendoza is expected to go No. 1 overall to the Las Vegas Raiders in the draft after a magical season with the Indiana Hoosiers. The redshirt junior completed 72.0% of his passes for 3,535 yards, 41 touchdowns and just six interceptions. He earned the 2025 Heisman Trophy and led the Hoosiers to a 16-0 record, something that hasn’t been accomplished since the 2022 Georgia Bulldogs and won Indiana their first national championship.
Before his time with the Hoosiers, Mendoza started two years with the California Golden Bears. He totaled just 4,712 yards, 30 touchdowns and 16 interceptions with the Golden Bears, going 9-10 in his time with Cal.
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Mendoza’s quirky personality has been a gem for football fans. He always approaches interviews with a ton of enthusiasm and humility, and when he appeared on the "The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon," Mendoza’s enthusiastic personality appealed to the crowd perfectly.
The Indiana Hoosiers have taken over media after winning the national championship. Head coach Curt Cignetti got a Chipotle Bowl named after him, called the “I Win” bowl. It features chicken, brown rice, black beans and a side of guacamole. He also won the 2025 Bear Bryant Coach of the Year award as well.
Overall, the Indiana story is a story of perseverance. Before the Cignetti era, the Hoosiers hadn’t won a bowl game since 1991. They had never won the Big Ten outright and hadn’t been a Big Ten champion since 1967.
Now Indiana has a national championship, and it’s because of Fernando Mendoza’s rise to stardom. The Raiders will be looking for the same out of Mendoza if they select him first overall. They have not had a playoff win since their Super Bowl loss at the end of the 2002 season to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and they haven’t won the AFC West since.
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