It’s been a good year for Fernando Mendoza.
At this time a year ago, he was a transfer quarterback at Indiana, preparing for the Hoosiers’ spring game in relative anonymity.
Twelve months later, he’s a national champion, Heisman Trophy winner and the projected No. 1 pick in the NFL draft.
The magic carpet ride continued this week for Mendoza. He spent the past few days at Augusta National Golf Course for the Masters, where he palled around with Peyton and Eli Manning, before catching a flight to New Orleans to accept the Manning Award as the best college quarterback in the nation. It was the latest in a parade of honors for the congenial 6-foot-5, 235-pound signal-caller.
“It’s been a whirlwind,” said Mendoza, before accepting the bronze trophy during a ceremony at Manning’s Sports Bar and Grille in downtown New Orleans. “But I would say the one word to describe it all is a blessing. I've been enabled and blessed to have the fantastic year that we had.”
Mendoza credited the Mannings with instilling confidence in him during the early part of his career. He said the invitation from Archie Manning to attend the family’s prestigious Manning Passing Academy two years ago was so impactful he kept the text in his phone as a reminder of how far he has come in his journey.
“I have come a long way from that moment, but for your family to believe in me and to give me an invite back then when there was absolutely zero buzz about me, really was a huge confidence-booster for me,” Mendoza said to Cooper Manning during the Q&A portion of the ceremony. “It’s a huge honor I wear to have this award and to be a part of the camp. I look forward to honoring it and doing my best in the future.”
In leading Indiana to the first 16-0 season in college football history, Mendoza led the FBS in touchdown passes (41) and led Power Four conference quarterbacks with 48 combined rushing and passing touchdowns. He was also the only FBS quarterback with six games of four-plus touchdown passes and no interceptions.
“What a joy it’s been to watch Fernando throughout this season,” said Archie Manning, who could not attend the ceremony while recovery from back surgery. “He excelled on the field week after week, right down to that fourth-down touchdown run in the national championship that will live forever in Indiana history. He also conducted himself so well off the field and in interviews. We’re honored to recognize Fernando Mendoza as the winner of the 2025 Manning Award.”
During his chat with Cooper Manning and at a news briefing with local reporters before the ceremony, Mendoza reflected on the unconventional road he traveled as an overlooked recruit from Miami with just one Division I scholarship offer.
“There's so many different elements that go into my success — consistency, termination, camaraderie — that I've been taught by a lot of great mentors,” he said. “It’s not one singular person. It's everybody. It's the teammates. It’s my family. It’s my coaches. It’s just been a perfect storm that’s led me to here.”
In fact, the past two Manning Award winners are prime examples of the bromide that great players can come from anywhere. Cam Ward, the 2025 winner, was a no-star recruit out of Texas, who initially signed with Incarnate Word of the FCS. Mendoza was a lightly recruited two-star recruit of Miami. He wasn’t ranked among the top 250 players in the state of Florida for the Class of 2022 and originally committed to Yale before switching to California late in the process.
“Early on in my career when I was a little frustrated that I was a two-star (recruit), my mom told me, don't let yourself get put in these imaginary boundaries and confines because once you do that, then you're going to confine your growth,” Mendoza said. “Those are past rankings. Focus on you every single day, so you can break out of those rankings, be free, and essentially have unlimited potential for growth rather than try to put a cap on yourself. So that growth mindset has really helped me, and I'm sure it's helped Cam, because he's a fantastic player.”