Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza finished his dream season with the Hoosiers on Wednesday, throwing to all of his teammates during the NFL Pro Day in Bloomington. He was thrilled to be back around all of his national champion teammates.
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Soon after Fernando Mendoza led Indiana to its first football national championship in late January, the talk turned to the NFL and his draft plans. The future first-overall pick was very clear about his schedule, too.
Mendoza told everybody from Day 1 that he wasn't going to throw at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis in February, wanting to wait for Indiana's NFL Pro Day, so he ''could throw to all of my own guys.''
That pro day finally rolled around on Wednesday, and Mendoza kept his promise. He spent the day in Bloomington with all of his skill-position guys — nine of them, to be exact — impressing NFL scouts and front office executives from all 32 teams.
It was a big deal for Mendoza because it might be the last time all of his national championships teammates will be on the same football field. ''Those are my brothers,'' he said, and it was important for Mendoza to do all he can to make them look good, too.
"I feel like it went great,” Mendoza said. “You know quarterbacks have passed, have done shorter pro days than that. However, I just wanted to make sure everybody could showcase their abilities in front of all 32 NFL teams and really run routes that are applicable to the timing we're going to be running in the NFL.
“I’m here to serve my teammates.”
It was the biggest pro day in Indiana football history, with 23 Hoosiers working out for scouts. Mendoza was the big draw, or course, and he threw to wide receivers Omar Cooper Jr., Elijah Sarratt and E.J. Williams, plus tight ends Riley Nowakowski and Holden Staes, and running backs Roman Hemby and Kaelon Black.
Mendoza has also spent the spring being ready himself. The Las Vegas Raiders have the first pick in the April 23 draft, and Mendoza will almost certainly be their guy.
He wants to hit the ground running, too. He's played out of the shotgun throughout college, during his two years at California and then last year at Indiana. He'll work under center more in the NFL, and he's prepping for that.
"I'm putting all of my efforts toward just trying to be the best quarterback possible for the season," he said. “But I know at the next level, there's going to be a lot more snaps under center and that's a big adjustment. I need to get used to that and just the nature of the game. Not only that, the hash (marks) are more condensed and the speed of the game is faster. So all those things, I look forward to learning.”
Mendoza has already spent a lot of time with the Raiders brass, which includes new coach Clint Kubiak, an offensive guru who just won a Super Bowl with the Seattle Seahawks.
They had meetings at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis in February and have had another long Zoom call as well. They were scheduled to spend more time together Wednesday afternoon and evening in Bloomington.
It's been an incredible run at Indiana for Mendoza, and it was great to be back around all of his teammates. His last throw, a long touchdown pass, ended the day perfectly. The entire groud sprinted down to the end zone and celebrated together, with a ''brothers'' chant at the end.
“You have to take a second to kind of realize what we have all accomplished together here,” Mendoza said, “It was a little bit of a moment of a gratitude, looking at those guys and really seeing the special moments I've had with each individual.
"It's unlikely we'll all play on the same team again, but, hopefully, I'll get to play against and with some of those guys again.”