Fernando Mendoza

● Tall, good-sized athlete, with adequate build and body strength ● Quickly lines himself up to targets with snappy load and release ● Throws with high-level anticipation and ball placement ● Smart pre-snap; understands where to attack vulnerable matchups ● Good timing and velocity on quick outs, intermediate outs and seam balls 3 Back to table of contents -- 7 of 629 -- ● Enough juice in his arm to rip every throw he wants (see hole-shot throw on 2025 Iowa tape) ● Stands tough in face of impending contact and gets off throws ● Steady heartbeat, regardless of score or situation, and mistakes don’t linger on his mind ● Not very graceful in creation mode, but it works — can avoid sacks and extend plays with his legs ● Accelerates quickly on QB-lead draw or scrambles and finishes with toughness (see touchdown run in national title game) ● Egoless personality; plays with a genuine love for his teammates ● Always most-prepared player and refuses to be outworked (it makes sense that his football idol is Tom Brady) ● Highly productive in 2025 — put together one of the best QB seasons in Big Ten history

● Benefited from RPO-heavy offense at Indiana, with a high percentage of first-read throws ● Rarely required to get to third or fourth read, or backside routes ● Guilty of leaving clean pockets and doesn’t like to be stagnant very long ● Deep ball is good but leaves some short and leads others ● Doesn’t always identify unblocked pressures — and pays the price ● Mobility is an asset, but more of a linear athlete and not elusive in tight quarters

A one-year starter at Indiana (and three-year starter overall), Mendoza thrived in offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan’s RPO-heavy offense (every run is tied to a read). He earned starter-level grades from NFL scouts after the 2024 season, despite having three different offensive coordinators in his three seasons at Cal. However, he elevated his profile even further with a special, Heisman-winning performance in 2025 and separated himself as the NFL Draft’s clear QB1. He led the Hoosiers to a perfect 16-0 record and the national championship, capping off the greatest season in school history. Mendoza has an outstanding feel for touch, placement and layering throws, and he’s an elite back-shoulder thrower. He benefited at Indiana from a quick-read offense (non-stop hitches, slants and outs), but he decisively and accurately rips his initial looks. His physical traits are good, not great, but he makes up for that with advanced mental skills. Though not a dynamic athlete, he does just enough to escape pursuit and keep plays alive. With his toughness (both mental and physical), he moves on from negative plays immediately and shows a knack for finding clutch completions in adverse situations. Overall, Mendoza will need to prove himself with more full-field reads in the NFL, but his intuition, throwing accuracy and play confidence are superpowers and will smooth his transition to the next level. He projects as a mid-level NFL starter and a more mobile version of Bernie Kosar.