Just two days ahead of Indiana football beginning its fall camp, its marquee quarterback-receiver duo earned preseason recognition Monday.
Redshirt junior quarterback Fernando Mendoza and senior wide receiver Elijah Sarratt were both named to the Maxwell Award preseason watchlist, according to a National College Football Awards Association release. The watchlist for the award, which honors the most outstanding player in college football, is comprised of 80 total players.
Only running back Anthony Thompson has ever won the award as a Hoosier, earning the honor in 1989. Thompson rushed for 1,793 yards and 24 touchdowns in his senior season in Bloomington.
Semifinalists for the award will be announced Nov. 11, before the three finalists are unveiled Nov. 25. The winner of the 89th Maxwell Award will be announced Dec. 11 as a part of the ESPN Home Depot College Football Awards Show.
Mendoza made 19 starts in 20 career games played during his first three collegiate seasons at the University of California, Berkeley, before entering the transfer portal at the end of the 2024 season. Rated as the No. 14 overall player and third-best signal caller in the portal by 247 Sports, the Miami native committed to the Hoosiers on Dec. 24, 2024.
Mendoza started 11 of Cal’s 12 contests last year, throwing for 3,004 yards and 16 touchdowns. He completed 68.7% of his passes and earned a 144.6 passer rating.
In Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti’s second season at the helm, he’ll have yet another starting quarterback who came from the portal in Mendoza. Once the signal caller entered the portal, Cignetti said he watched “a lot” of his tape.
“Saw a quarterback that had played a lot of football, a lot of good football,” Cignetti said at Big Ten Football Media Days on July 22. “Has size. Has mobility, quick release, good arm. Can extend plays. Smart guy. He has areas he has to improve, but I really liked his last five days of spring ball. I have a lot of confidence in him. Excited to see how he develops.”
Sarratt earned third-team All-Big ten honors in 2024, notching 957 receiving yards and eight touchdowns. The James Madison University transfer graded out as the fourth-best receiver in the Big Ten and 13th-best in the Power Four in his first season in Bloomington, according to Pro Football Focus.
Indiana is one of 16 programs to have multiple players on the preseason watchlist, including just two other Big Ten schools — Penn State and Washington.
The Cream and Crimson are slated to begin their fall camp Wednesday before they open their regular season against Old Dominion University at 2:30 p.m. Aug. 30 inside Memorial Stadium in Bloomington.
