Indiana football lands commitment from Cal transfer QB Fernando Mendoza

Indiana football has found its quarterback for next season.

Indiana football has landed a commitment from California transfer quarterback Fernando Mendoza, announced by On3.com. He is the older brother of current Indiana freshman quarterback, Alberto Mendoza.

With Kurtis Rourke out of eligibility and Tayven Jackson entering the transfer portal, Curt Cignetti and the Hoosiers needed to find a starting QB for next season. Before the commitment of Fernando Mendoza, the Hoosiers only had his brother Alberto and Tyler Cherry on the QB depth chart.

“Well, we have two young quarterbacks in the program that we like: Tyler Cherry and Mendoza,” Indiana football head coach Curt Cignetti said when asked about adding a QB in the offseason. “So we didn’t feel a real need to sign a young quarterback this year.

“We will definitely recruit a quarterback out of the portal. In terms of our other needs, I’ll let you guys put pen to paper and figure out who is coming back and who we’re losing and figure that out on your own.”

Fernando Mendoza, who is listed as 6-foot-5 and 225-pound, helped lead California to a 6-6 record this past season. He threw for 3,004 yards including 16 touchdowns and only six interceptions. He was 265-of-386 (68.7%) on his passing attempts. As far as completion percentage amongst the ACC quarterbacks, he finished second.

He had three games with at least 300+ passing yards and seven total of at least 275 yards.

Mendoza was, however, sacked 41 times this year. Rourke on the other hand was sacked just 20 times.

Mendoza was also a Pac-12 Offensive Freshman of the Year honorable mention in the 2023 season when he threw for 1,708 yards and 14 touchdowns to 10 interceptions.

“Mendoza is viewed as one of the most promising QBs in the country by several personnel departments,” ESPN national analyst Max Olson wrote.

He has two years of eligibility remaining.

Mendoza was ranked as the No. 4 overall player in the ESPN transfer portal rankings.

See Also: All-American Linebacker Aiden Fisher announces his return to Indiana Football

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