The money was better at Georgia and Miami.
But Fernando Mendoza saw his younger brother’s football knowledge soar in one year with the IU coaching staff.
He had to know more.
“My brother (Alberto) was at Indiana. I saw first hand how much he developed from high school with that coaching in his first year,” Mendoza said on The Rush with Max Crosby. “I’m like, this guy basically has more football IQ than me. And I’ve been three years in college.”
The Indiana staff promised the one thing they knew they could deliver: Development. And in the end they provided some things the competition promised but ultimately could not deliver.
“Indiana really sold me on developing me,” Mendoza said. “Everyone else is like, ‘Hey, we’re going to win a national championship. Hey, we’re going to win this.’ And I just knew I was a raw prospect at that point. Like I still need to work a lot.”
Indiana’s message, along with Alberto’s first hand experience, resonated much more in the end.
“They (Indiana) said, ‘Hey, we’re going to develop you, and you’re going to be become the best version of you, which is going to help best serve your teammates,” he continued. “So, if you want to come here, we can’t promise you all this other stuff, but we’re going to promise we’re going to push you, and we’re going to make sure that we refine you to be the best quarterback you can become this year.’
“So, I was like, ‘Alright, let’s let’s roll it.’
The development Mendoza received at Indiana obviously led to great results, and as much notoriety as he could have hoped for.
By being honest with himself and recognizing he needed to improve, Mendoza avoided the temptation to chase the biggest payday in the transfer portal.
“It was actually a huge paycut from the other schools, but it was I believe looking back on it, it was the right decision,” Mendoza said. “And I really give a lot of props to my family, especially my mom of pushing me to that, you know, pushing me and giving me that confidence to take a bet on myself.”
In the end, Mendoza’s choice looks like a stroke of genius.
He may have gotten less at Indiana.
But as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, Mendoza’s rookie contract will be a four-year, fully guaranteed $57.27 million deal, including a $38.11 million signing bonus.
Here is Mendoza’s full interview with Crosby:
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