Fernando Mendoza News: Declares for NFL Draft

Mendoza has declared for the 2026 NFL Draft, Pete Thamel of ESPN.com reports.

Mendoza will forgo his last senior season of collegiate eligibility to enter the 2026 NFL Draft. The quarterback began his collegiate career with California, and in two seasons with Cal, he logged 418 completed passes for 4,735 yards and 30 touchdowns. However, it was with Indiana that Mendoza established himself as the cream of the crop. For the 2025 Hoosiers, he completed 72.0 percent of 379 pass attempts for 3,535 yards and a 41-6 TD-INT ratio. The junior also recorded 90 rushing attempts for 276 yards and seven TDs. With career-bests in every aforementioned category, Mendoza not only won this past season's Heisman Trophy but also helped the Hoosiers complete a turnaround of their once consistently struggling program by going undefeated en route to their first national championship. Going into the 2026 NFL Draft, Mendoza is not only expected to be the first quarterback selected by an NFL team but also the draft's No. 1 selection, held by the Las Vegas Raiders as of his declaration.