Fernando Mendoza
| No. 15 – Indiana Hoosiers | |
|---|---|
| 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 |
|
| 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.
Early life
[edit]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]
College career
[edit]California (2022–2024)
[edit]2022 season
[edit]Mendoza redshirted during the 2022 season.
2023 season
[edit]Mendoza earned his first career start in week 6 of the 2023 season against Oregon State.[4] He completed 21 of 32 pass attempts for 207 yards and two touchdowns with an interception in a loss to the Beavers.[5] The following week, Mendoza went 10 of 17 passing for 149 yards, two touchdowns and an interception in a loss to Utah.[6] Mendoza was named the team's starting quarterback heading forward.[7][8] 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.[9]
2024 season
[edit]Entering the 2024 season, Mendoza won the starting quarterback job for Cal, beating graduate transfer Chandler Rogers.[10] 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.[11] 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.[12]
Indiana (2025–present)
[edit]2025 season
[edit]On December 23, 2024, Mendoza announced he would transfer to Indiana.[13]
Statistics
[edit]| 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 | 2 |
| 2025 | Indiana | 8 | 8 | 9−0 | 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 | |
Personal life
[edit]Mendoza has a younger brother, Alberto, who serves as backup quarterback behind him for Indiana.[14][15]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Villa, Walter (October 26, 2021). "Miami Columbus' Cuban-American quarterback finds a role model in Texas A&M star". Miami Herald. Retrieved November 9, 2024.
- ^ "Fernando Mendoza Football Stats". MaxPreps.com. Retrieved October 28, 2023.
- ^ Farudo, Jeff (February 2, 2022). "Cal Football: Quarterback Fernando Mendoza Makes it Official, Signs With Bears". California Golden Bears on SI. SI.com. Retrieved October 28, 2023.
- ^ Faraudo, Jeff (October 8, 2023). "Quarterback Fernando Mendoza Provides Hope in Cal's 52-40 Loss to OSU". California Golden Bears on SI. SI.com. Retrieved October 28, 2023.
- ^ Kroner, Steve (October 8, 2023). "Cal crushed 52-40 by No. 15 Oregon State but finds QB Fernando Mendoza". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved October 28, 2023.
- ^ Kroner, Steve (October 27, 2023). "Can Cal's Fernando Mendoza keep pace with No. 24 USC's Caleb Williams?". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved October 28, 2023.
- ^ Kroner, Steve (October 8, 2023). "Cal coach commits to start Fernando Mendoza at QB vs. Utah". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved October 28, 2023.
- ^ Curtis, Jake (October 25, 2023). "Fernando Mendoza Says He's a Better QB Than He Was 3 Weeks ago". California Golden Bears on SI. SI.com. Retrieved October 28, 2023.
- ^ "Fernando Mendoza - Football". California Golden Bears Athletics. Retrieved October 18, 2024.
- ^ Rittenberg, Adam (August 31, 2024). "Source: Cal to start QB Mendoza vs. UC Davis". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 18, 2024.
- ^ "California 21-20 Auburn (Sep 7, 2024) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved September 7, 2024.
- ^ Olson, Max (December 11, 2024). "QB Mendoza entering portal after strong Cal year". ESPN. Retrieved December 11, 2024.
- ^ "Sources: Cal transfer QB Fernando Mendoza commits to Indiana". espn.com. Retrieved December 25, 2024.
- ^ Niziolek, Michael (September 6, 2025). "Indiana quarterbacks, brothers become first duo in 10 years to accomplish college football feat". The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved September 29, 2025.
- ^ Halm, Alexandra (September 26, 2025). "Brothers in Arms: IU's Mendoza Duo". WFIU. Retrieved September 29, 2025.