It was a magical season for Fernando Mendoza and the Indiana Hoosiers.
After transferring from Cal, Mendoza led the Hoosiers to a perfect 16-0 season, including a Big Ten Championship and a National Championship.
Now, the focus shifts to the NFL draft, where teams have some concerns over Mendoza despite still being projected to be the top pick.
Fernando Mendoza’s Heisman Season Puts Raiders’ No. 1 Pick Almost Locked In
The Hoosier shocked the college football world by posting an 11-2 season in 2024, losing only to eventual national champion Notre Dame in the regular season and falling to Notre Dame in the playoffs. The Hoosiers built on the momentum after Mendoza’s transfer.
Mendoza completed 273-of-379 passes (72.0%) for 3,535 yards with 41 touchdowns and just six interceptions. He added another 276 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground. He earned a PFSN CFB QB Impact score of 93.3, an A grade, and the second-best number in the country (Vanderbilt’s Diego Pavia earned a score of 94.8).
However, concerns have been raised about his future, as NFL Insider John Frascella explains. “Some concerns are popping up now about consensus No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza Lot of chatter that he throws from one spot, pre-determines his reads, ‘makes the easy College play,’” Frascella says.
There have been issues with “system” quarterbacks in the past, who have had difficulty transitioning to the NFL, which is why some have raised concerns about Mendoza making too many “easy” plays. PFSN’s Jacob Infante disagrees. “Fernando Mendoza is a well-built, poised, and intelligent quarterback who sees the field well and has a natural sense of timing behind his throws,” Infante writes.
Infante notes Mendoza’s excellent pocket presence and arm, calling him “polished.” “The Heisman Trophy winner has excellent pocket presence and a strong arm that can hit targets in stride from all levels of the field,” Infante explains. “He’s a polished quarterback with a high floor, and he has more than enough arm talent to make big plays in the NFL.”
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You can understand why one might think taking the easy play may not transition to the NFL all that well, simply because there aren’t nearly as many easy plays to make in the NFL. Mendoza also had other issues before he transferred to Indiana, yet he still completed 63.0% of his passes in 2023 and 68.7% in 2024. His touchdown-to-interception ratio (14-10) raised some concerns in 2023, but he improved greatly on those numbers in 2024 (16-6) before putting together his Heisman Trophy season in 2025.
Mendoza showed just what kind of player he could be last year, and certainly has the size, arm strength, athleticism, work ethic, and desire that NFL teams are looking for in a franchise quarterback.
In other words, despite some pre-draft nitpicking, it will be a surprise if the Las Vegas Raiders don’t select Mendoza with the first-overall pick when the 2026 NFL Draft gets underway on Thursday, April 23.
