Fernando Mendoza spun the ball downfield to receiver Omar Cooper Jr., whose cleats emitted streaks of lime green and bright crimson as he raced down the sideline to track it. The ball, as it had for most of the workout, dropped into Cooper Jr.’s hands with ease –– the finishing touches on Mendoza’s pro day session at the John Mellencamp Pavilion on Wednesday.
Cooper Jr.’s momentum carried him out of the end zone. As he pivoted back to his starting point, his former Indiana teammates were already jogging downfield to surround him. They greeted Cooper Jr. with high fives, before the group of 10, including Mendoza and his receivers, gathered in a brief huddle led by tight end Holden Staes. The unit held their fists to the pavilion roof and broke the huddle with one word: “brothers.”
“It was a little bit of a moment of gratitude,” Mendoza said. “Looking at all those guys and really seeing the special moments I’ve had with each individual. Whether it’s Riley (Nowakowski), whether it’s Holden (Staes), any of the receivers, the running backs –– all those guys. To revisit all those good times we’ve had together on and off the field is very special.”
Mendoza’s workout is possibly the last time any of his receivers will receive a pass from the Heisman Trophy winner. With Mendoza likely being the No. 1 selection in the draft, he had little left to prove to NFL personnel and already opted out of throwing at the NFL Combine in February at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
Despite not holding any obligation to throw at Indiana’s pro day, he did anyway. He even called out each receiver by name and the route they were about to run. Mendoza regularly praised his receivers during the session, including a loud “thank you” to Cooper Jr. after a clean route.
“I wanted to best showcase our guys,” Mendoza said.
In a postgame interview after Indiana’s victory over Iowa on Sept. 27, Mendoza characterized the Hoosiers as a “band of brothers” –– a theme the unit carried with them all the way into Wednesday.
“Football is really just about that brotherhood and to be able to compete with your brothers one more time, that was a great feeling,” defensive lineman Mikail Kamara said.
Pro day marked the final on-field showcase for players concluding their time at Indiana, capping a historic season. From a Big Ten Championship to becoming the first 16-0 national champions in the modern era, the Hoosiers accomplished everything they could last season. Yet, Wednesday night brought mixed emotions for the group of 23 participants.
“It definitely is a little bit bittersweet,” tight end Riley Nowakowski said after pro day. “You get to the end of the road and it’s like ‘Oh we did great. We did everything we sought out to do. But it is the end of the road. That definitely is a little bit sad.”
While Wednesday highlighted the final on-field moments for these players, it underscored Indiana’s emerging profile with all 32 NFL teams represented. ESPN’s Matt Miller projected six former Hoosiers –– Mendoza, Cooper Jr., D’Angelo Ponds, Elijah Sarratt, Aiden Fisher and Pat Coogan –– to be selected in the upcoming NFL Draft, which would be the most since 1976.
Players like Kamara hope this signals the start of a trend, following the footsteps of schools like the University of Alabama –– a program that led all of college football with 62 players on an NFL roster in 2025.
“Hopefully we can turn this (Indiana football) into like ‘Bama bruh,” Kamara said. “Old ‘Bama.”
That ambition made Wednesday’s program significant. With more eyes on Indiana’s pro day than ever before, John Mellencamp Pavilion was filled with focus and professionalism. Scouts intently watched and measured athletic performances.
But the week was more than improving draft stock for a group that had not been together since shortly after the national championship –– something Coogan had “been looking forward to for months.”
“It’s great just being back with these guys,” Fisher said. “The last couple nights we’ve all hung out, just doing anything, eating dinner, just sitting around talking. But, we really did have a really special group of guys and it’s so great to be back with everybody and watch everybody perform the way they did today. It was special.”
The group has routinely embraced a “band of brothers” mentality and thrived as “misfits” during its championship run. As many said their goodbyes to Memorial Stadium, it was fitting that their time at Indiana ended with a symbolic huddle breaking word: “brothers.”
