Each of the last two years, Curt Cignetti has said publicly the program didn’t lose anyone to the transfer portal it was trying to retain.
That’s a bit of a harsh statement at the surface, but when you drill down a bit it also looks like an honest assessment.
But Cignetti had to stop himself after uttering the statement last week.
There was one member of the 2025 squad lost to the portal he wanted back.
“We retained everybody we wanted to retain,” Cignetti said on the Andy and Ari podcast. “We didn’t lose anybody we didn’t want to lose.
“Uh, well, Alberto (Mendoza), you know, we tried to retain him.”
Alberto served as Indiana’s primary backup quarterback this season, behind his older brother, Fernando. The younger Mendoza entered nine games, primarily in mop-up duty. He completed 18 of his 24 throws for 286 yards with five touchdowns and an interception. Alberto added 13 carries for 190 yards and a score, including a 65-yard run at Purdue.
The effort to retain Alberto likely fell apart in December.
Rumors of Indiana potentially landing TCU quarterback Josh Hoover from the transfer portal began swirling in mid-December, soon after IU beat Ohio State in the Big Ten title game.
And Cignetti said in late December he was through roster retention conversations with 95% of the key guys.
Alberto was never tested in any high pressure moments at IU, making him a bit of a wild card as a potential starter in 2026. Cignetti has been fairly open about the importance of getting the quarterback position right each year. It’s seemingly where production over potential matters the most to the IU head coach.
And it seems clear Alberto wanted a cleaner path to a starting role for the upcoming season.
Just one day after the national championship game, the news broke Alberto would be entering the transfer portal. And soon thereafter he committed to Georgia Tech.
At this point it looks like Alberto made the right decision, at least as it relates to his playing time for 2026. He exited Georgia Tech’s spring game as the presumptive starter in the fall.
“Alberto is the guy,” coach Brent Key said when asked about the Yellow Jackets’ quarterbacks room after the spring game earlier this month.
For complete coverage of IU football, GO HERE.
The Daily Hoosier –“Where Indiana fans assemble when they’re not at Assembly”
- Find us on Instagram, X, and Facebook
- Seven ways to support completely free IU coverage at no cost to you.
