How Curt Cignetti Landed Fernando Mendoza and Turned Him Into a Heisman Candidate

When Fernando Mendoza entered the transfer portal in the offseason, the former Cal Bear instantly became one of the top quarterbacks available. Luckily for Indiana, it already had a strong connection to the Mendoza family established to help land the quarterback. 

In the latest episode of "The Joel Klatt Show," Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti detailed how his program was able to land Mendoza, who was the fourth-ranked quarterback in the transfer portal last season (per 247 Sports). 

"Well, it was a pretty easy decision," Cignetti said of Indiana's pursuit of Mendoza. "And you know, we had his younger brother, Alberto, in the program. Alberto won a couple state championships and has a lot of great qualities, so the family was very familiar with how we run the program and the history of success we've had with the quarterback position."

Less than two weeks after Mendoza entered the portal, Indiana landed his commitment, beating out Georgia and Missouri for the prized quarterback. In retrospect, Mendoza's decision wound up being one of the defining moments of the offseason. He's statistically been one of the best quarterbacks in the FBS, ranking 12th in yards per attempt (9.3) and third in total touchdowns (19).

More importantly, Mendoza has taken Indiana to another level after last season’s breakout, when the Hoosiers shocked the college football world by reaching the College Football Playoff. On Saturday, he led the Hoosiers into Oregon and took down the third-ranked Ducks, throwing for 215 yards and a touchdown in a 30–20 victory.

The victory seemed to solidify Mendoza's status as a Heisman contender as well, giving him the third-best odds (+475) to win the award entering Week 8. He's also received consideration to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, where he's actually the current betting favorite. 

But before Mendoza emerged as one of the clear-cut top quarterbacks in college football, Cignetti felt that he and the Hoosiers' coaching staff thought they had some work to do. 

"Fernando, on tape, had a lot of physical talent," Cignetti said of the 6-foot-5 Mendoza. "You know, he's big, he's really smart, he's got a whip, a quick release, he can make all the throws, and he's mobile and he's tall. When we got him, he needed a little bit of work in the pocket. We had to calm him down a little bit, work on his footwork and processing."

Statistically, Mendoza was a good passer at Cal. He completed 68.7% of his passes for 3,004 yards, 16 touchdowns and four interceptions in 11 starts last season, helping Cal go 6-5. However, Mendoza was also sacked 41 times, with California's quarterback sack percentage (10.79%) ranking as the seventh-worst mark in FBS.

So far this season, Mendoa has been sacked just six times through six games. While Indiana ranks 37th in quarterback sack percentage, the 4.2% mark is a dramatic difference for Mendoza from last year. The drop in sack numbers has allowed Mendoza to complete an impressive 71.2% of his passes (No. 14 in FBS) for 1,423 yards, 17 touchdowns (fourth in FBS) and just two interceptions. 

While Cignetti called Mendoza’s progress in the pocket "unbelievable," he believes there’s still plenty of room for growth.

"He still has that much more he can go because of his physical ability," Cignetti said. "And one thing about him, he's a great person — strong values, extremely intelligent, cares about people, very active in the community. If there were 25 hours in a day, he'd spend all 25 preparing. 

"He wants to be great, and he does everything he can to be great, and teammates love him."

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