Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza has made official what most expected after the 2025-26 season: he’s entering the 2026 NFL Draft.
Mendoza announced his decision on Instagram on Friday morning, in the middle of a media tour in New York City. He made a brief appearance on NBC’s “The Tonight Show” on Thursday, and he’s set to join “CBS Mornings” on Friday.
After transferring to IU from California in December 2024, Mendoza turned in the greatest individual season in Indiana football history. He brought home the program’s first-ever Heisman Trophy, and led the Hoosiers to a historic 16-0 campaign that ended in their first national championship. His 12-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter of the College Football Playoff National Championship Game will live on in Indiana football lore for generations to come.
The Miami native threw for 3,535 yards, coming only 38 yards short of Nate Sudfeld’s single-season program record from 2015. But his 41 touchdown passes shattered IU’s single-season record, and even ranked sixth for career touchdown passes. Mendoza threw only six interceptions with all those touchdown passes, and he didn’t throw any picks during the College Football Playoff. He also completed 72 percent of his passes, ranking third in the country.
Mendoza is widely expected to be the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft and go to the Las Vegas Raiders. He would be the second-ever No. 1 overall pick in program history, joining Corbett Davis in 1938. He’d also be the first Hoosier to go in the first round in over 30 years (Thomas Lewis, 1994).
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