Cal transfer Fernando Mendoza — one of the most coveted quarterbacks remaining in the portal — committed to Indiana on Tuesday, according to multiple reports. It’s the second consecutive offseason that the Hoosiers have landed one of the most productive and experienced quarterbacks on the market.
Mendoza is No. 4 in The Athletic’s transfer quarterback rankings.
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Indiana just posted an 11-2 record and reached the College Football Playoff in coach Curt Cignetti’s first season. It did so with Kurtis Rourke, an Ohio transfer, at the helm. Rourke just exhausted his eligibility, and backup Tayven Jackson, who started the Hoosiers’ 31-17 win over Washington, entered the transfer portal over the weekend.
That left Indiana in need of a starting-caliber quarterback. Insert Mendoza, who passed for 3,004 yards as a sophomore in 2024 despite missing the final two games with an injury. He became the Golden Bears’ starter a month into his redshirt freshman season and threw for 1,708 yards in eight starts in 2023. He has some rushing ability, with a season-high 51 yards against Wake Forest this season, but is regarded as more of a pocket passer.
Mendoza, listed at 6-foot-5, was a two-star prospect in the 2022 class out of Miami, ranked No. 140 among quarterbacks in the 247Sports Composite. He originally committed to Yale before being offered by Cal, which ended up getting a steal. Mendoza’s performance over the past two years made him one of the hottest names on the transfer market, with Georgia also being heavily involved in this recruitment.
Mendoza’s younger brother, Alberto, was a freshman quarterback at Indiana this season. The Hoosiers just hired Atlanta Falcons passing game specialist Chandler Whitmer as their new quarterbacks coach and co-offensive coordinator, and the NFL experience was likely a selling point while Indiana pursued Mendoza.
(Photo: Eakin Howard / Getty Images)
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