Fernando Mendoza V was new to a park football team in Miami during his fourth-grade year. Sitting fourth on the quarterback depth chart, he was unfamiliar with all his peers.
It was midway through the season he thought about quitting. His parents, Fernando Mendoza IV and Elsa Mendoza, told him he must finish what he started. So, he embraced his team.
He said that’s when he fell in love with football.
Some seven and a half years later, Mendoza developed into a two-star prospect with just one offer — Yale University. During a visit to the Bulldogs’ campus, Mendoza took a photo with a Heisman Trophy from Yale’s two winners in the 1930s.
Mendoza thought it was kind of a “funny thing,” as the trophy was used as what he called a marketing prop during the visit.
Now, Mendoza can take photos with his own Heisman Trophy. The redshirt junior quarterback became Indiana football’s first winner of college football’s top individual award Saturday.
“If you told me, as a kid in Miami, that I'd be here on stage, holding this prestigious trophy, I probably would have laughed, cried, like I'm doing now, or both,” Mendoza said in his acceptance speech. “Because this moment, it's an honor, it's bigger than me.”
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Mendoza arrived at Indiana last winter after spending three seasons at the University of California, Berkeley. Throughout his transfer portal process, there were plenty of suitors before he eventually chose Indiana on Christmas Eve.
Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti offered Mendoza immediate praise in his first time speaking to reporters after adding the 6-foot-5 quarterback.
“Not only did he show the ability to make all the throws from the pocket, but to extend plays and be able to make plays on the move with his arm and his legs,” Cignetti said last February. “He's an extremely intelligent guy, and he's got two years.”
Mendoza developed throughout spring camp, which culminated with the Hoosiers’ Spring Game on April 17. He unofficially went 10 of 14 for 123 yards passing and a touchdown in his first showing inside Memorial Stadium.
Cignetti said Mendoza made “major strides” throughout his last three spring practices as everything started to click. Before camp closed, Cignetti felt “really good” about where Mendoza stood.
But it had yet to be seen how the signal caller would perform come the season opener in late August. He eventually led the Hoosiers to their first 12-0 regular season and a Big Ten Championship.
Mendoza completed 71.5% of his passes, threw for 2,980 yards and a nation-high 33 touchdowns. He’s projected to be one of, if not the first, quarterback selected in the upcoming NFL draft. Although the Heisman Trophy followed, he said he’s still unsure whether he’s deserving of winning the award.
Some teammates never thought the Heisman was possible for Mendoza in the spring. They even said that to Mendoza the Monday after the ceremony, he said.
“However, the coaching staff, the way that I got there through spring and elevated myself all the way to this point as a player, it’s two different Fernando Mendozas,” Mendoza said. “It is two different players. You can ask any coach or player on staff.”
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Mendoza rose from his seat Saturday inside the Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Appel Room in New York City. First, he embraced University of Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love. Then, he did so with Vanderbilt University quarterback Diego Pavia and Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin.
Mendoza’s name had just been called as the winner of the Heisman Trophy. Tears welled in his eyes as he walked toward his family.
He first hugged each of his parents before doing the same with Cignetti. He rounded out his familial celebration with his brothers, Alberto and Max.
Mendoza walked on stage and laid his eyes on the Heisman. No longer a marketing prop, his trophy sat just to his left as he prepared to deliver his acceptance speech.
“The speech, I think it was my duty as a finalist to practice and rehearse the speech, and at that point I think — I rehearsed it and it sounded a lot better in the mirror, and then I got up there and I’m like, ‘Wow, I’m really nervous right now,’” Mendoza said. “So, I started stuttering a little bit.”
With nearly two dozen previous Heisman winners standing behind him, Mendoza explained how it was a privilege for him to join their ranks. They have his deepest respect, he said, before promising to carry the Heisman name with “humility, gratitude and with responsibility.”
Mendoza heard stories from those famed winners. He saw how much the prestigious fraternity means to them, and it only increased what the honor represents to him.
“Those guys have said that every single year it goes on, the trophy means more and more to them, so I look forward to that experience, as it means a lot to me now, so I can only imagine how much it’s going to mean 10 years down the road,” he said. “As those guys said, it’s only exponentially gone up.”
Mendoza listed several previous winners — such as Doug Flutie, Tim Tebow, Eddie George and Steve Spurrier — whom were “fantastic” to meet throughout the weekend.
“They gave me a lot of good advice,” he said. “Those guys are legends of the game, and to be rubbing shoulders with them is an honor and doesn’t feel real.”
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Although he may have stuttered at points, he still delivered one of the most passionate speeches in recent memory. He thanked all the people who have impacted him, whether it was his teammates, parents, brothers or grandparents.
“I thought it was great to show everybody that’s helped myself throughout my journey,” he said.
Mendoza concluded with a pointed message to any kid watching that feels overlooked or underestimated like he once did. He said all they need is discipline, heart, people who believe in them and self-confidence.
“I hope this moment shows you that chasing your dreams are worth it, no matter how big or impossible they seem,” he said.
The message was familiar. He recalled former University of Alabama wide receiver DeVonta Smith delivered a similar one during his Heisman acceptance speech in 2020. It resonated with Mendoza, then a junior at Christopher Columbus High School in Miami.
“I’m sure Mr. Smith got it from someone before him,” Mendoza said. “So, I was like, All right, it’s my duty to pass the torch to whatever is next, hopefully to reach somebody like that.”
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The greatest highlight of Mendoza’s weekend in New York City, other than winning the Heisman, was the support from those around him.
Around 60 family members make the trip, along with 10 to 15 teammates.
“To see all them and to see how much it meant to them,” he said, “it was unreal.”
Mendoza and the handful of teammates went to Times Square, where the quarterback didn’t think they’d be noticed, to take photos with the trophy. But his teammates — including Aiden Fisher, Pat Coogan, Carter Smith and Charlie Becker — began chanting phrases like “HeisMendoza.”
The group took their pictures, with the offensive linemen also acting as security guards.
“Such a great experience for us to be in the Big Apple,” Mendoza said, “and it’s an experience I believe all of us will remember for the rest of our lives.”
Mendoza said he was overwhelmed by emotion all week, as he met with winners, spoke with reporters and finally won the Heisman. He said he’s had to mentally recover from the experience.
The College Football Playoff awaits the 13-0 Hoosiers. Already having made history with a 12-0 regular season, a Big Ten Championship and a Heisman Trophy, Mendoza wants to accomplish more firsts.
“Now,” Mendoza said, “it’s on to the real trophy, or the season’s trophy, which is the national championship."
Follow reporters Dalton James (@DaltonMJames and jamesdm@iu.edu) and Conor Banks (@Conorbanks06 and conbanks@iu.edu) and columnist Quinn Richards (@Quinn_richa and qmrichar@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana football season.
