By: Cameron Cocquyt
The National Championship will be a homecoming of sorts for Fernando Mendoza. This year’s Heisman Trophy winner is a Miami native: growing up less than a mile from the University of Miami’s campus. In fact, some of his early memories include cheering on the Hurricanes.
Mendoza’s father, Fernando Sr., played on the offensive line with Hurricanes’ coach Mario Cristobal in high school. Meanwhile his mother, Elsa, was a former tennis player at Miami. Mendoza has always been vocal about his Miami roots and Cuban heritage, as he commonly shows his pride for the “305”.
When Mendoza sat in for media availability following Friday’s victory over Oregon, it was clear his return to Miami would stir up some questions at the podium. Calm and collected, Mendoza chose to not acknowledge his homecoming and instead he took the moment to praise his team and their preparation. Here’s what Mendoza had to say:
“I think playing a National Championship would get anybody fired up and definitely stir up some emotions. However, for myself, I believe it’s going to be a great game. The Hurricanes are a fantastic team, led by a great coach in Coach Cristobal. I think it’s really just playing our brand of football, playing the Indiana Hoosiers football, that even though it is the National Championship, we don’t have to do anything that is out of character. We just got to play our brand of football, and that’s what has led us to this point in 50 wins this season.”
Mendoza graduated from Christopher Columbus high school in Miami. The school boasts notable athletic alumni such as former Yankees’ star Alex Rodriguez and legendary quarterback Brian Griese. After his time at Columbus, Mendoza had very little P5 interest. He initially committed to Yale, but flipped his commitment to play for Justin Wilcox at Cal. His recruitment was largely underwhelming, and Miami was never even involved. He was rated just a two-star recruit in the class of 2022 according to 247 Sports.
When Mendoza entered the transfer portal after his third year at Cal, he was getting interest from schools across the country: one of those being Miami. Other notable programs involved with Mendoza were Georgia, Missouri, and of course, Indiana. When referencing transfer portal recruiting, Mendoza often coins it as ‘speed dating’. Ultimately, Mendoza landed with the Hoosiers and Miami opted to go with Carson Beck, the highly-rated transfer from Georgia.
In an interview with Nicole Auerbauch at NBC, Mendoza talked about what influenced his decision to choose Indiana.
“If I were to come to Indiana, that I would develop as a quarterback. I’d get great coaching and I would be able to be the best Fernando Mendoza that I could be.” Mendoza said.
He has also been sure to reference the impact his younger brother and backup quarterback, Alberto, had on his recruitment.
“My brother was here. He knows all the intricacies of the school, the goods, the bads, the excellent.” Mendoza explained on the impact his brother had on his commitment.
Now, in his redshirt junior season, the Heisman trophy winner has the opportunity to play against the team he once loved, in his hometown stadium. Next Monday’s season finale will be a homecoming for not only the Mendoza brothers, but also for starting cornerbacks D’Angelo Ponds and Jamari Sharpe among others.
In post-game availability on Friday, Mendoza shared a funny story about Ponds.
“D’Angelo actually picked me off in high school in a Miami game,” Mendoza then added, “He’s a really good player and he picked me off. I mean, it was starting off against man, but against this guy, it’s tough. I’m thankful to be on his team now. It’s a good full-circle moment for both of us to play on the same team now.”
He took some time to praise and acknowledge the level of football growing up in South Florida. Mendoza felt this was the best place to play high school football, which played a role in preparing him for the next level.
“South Florida, I believe, is the hotbed of football. It is not only the best speed down there. I think it’s the best overall high school football down there although a lot of people would say that Texas and California are up there. I believe in the quality of football in South Florida, and I think that’s what helped me develop.” Mendoza said. “When I went to college, the first thing a lot of people say is the game gets sped up. However, for me it’s only just a little bit of increment, because evidently most college players are better than high school players, but I would say it’s because of my environment in South Florida. There’s a lot of other states, like Texas and California, that have had great players.
However, for myself and the speed of the game, especially for the processing point of the quarterback, it’s been so special for myself to be able to have those experiences playing against our corner D’Angelo Ponds, who’s an All-American corner, playing against the Jeremiah Smiths, playing against all these different, other players that have gone on and had fantastic success in their college and in the NFL careers. In order, as a quarterback, to have that processing speed, to have that experience of, okay, I’m going to get got sometimes, but I need to bounce back and have some resiliency and to get them again or to come on top and have that win.”
A key storyline all week has been the connection between Mendoza’s family and Miami head coach, Mario Cristobal. In media availability, Cristobal was sure to praise Mendoza and his accomplishments this year, while acknowledging his connection to the family. Here’s what Cristobal had to say:
“The Heisman was earned and well-deserved. The type of season that Fernando has had, they have dominated just about every game. Every time a game was close, he was a big reason why the outcome was what it was. His level of play, and his younger brother is going to be as good or even better….
Really tough, smart, hard-working men that represent their University and family really well.”
The reality is: this story goes much further. This is Mendoza’s opportunity to go head-to-head against the program he once dreamt of playing for, but was never given the chance. In front of friends and family alike, Mendoza will have the opportunity to cement his legacy at Hard Rock Stadium in front of friends and family alike.
What he once dreamt of doing as a Hurricane, he will now have the opportunity to do as a Hoosier.