Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza, who won the Heisman Trophy and led the No. 1 Hoosiers to their first national championship this past season, is forgoing his final college season and entering the NFL draft, he announced on social media Friday.
Mendoza is an overwhelming favorite to be the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft by the Las Vegas Raiders.
“Let’s get to work,” Mendoza wrote on his Instagram account. “I’m humbled to announce that I am officially declaring for the 2026 NFL Draft!”
Raiders majority owner Mark Davis, minority owner Tom Brady and general manager John Spytek were on Indiana’s sideline before the No. 1 Hoosiers’ 27-21 victory against No. 10 Miami in the CFP National Championship Presented by AT&T at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, on Monday.
Oregon quarterback Dante Moore was also considered a potential No. 1 pick, but he opted to return to the Ducks for one more college season.
Mendoza spent two seasons at Cal before transferring to Indiana, where he completed 72% of his passes for 3,535 yards with an FBS-leading 41 touchdowns and six interceptions. He also ran for 276 yards with seven scores.
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In Monday night’s victory against the Hurricanes, Mendoza threw for 186 yards and scored on a memorable 12-yard run that put the Hoosiers up by 10 points in the fourth quarter.
The Hoosiers became only the second team in history to finish 16-0 and the first in the modern era, joining Yale in 1894.
If the Raiders select Mendoza first in the draft, which will be held April 23-25 in Pittsburgh, he would become only the third player to win the Heisman Trophy and a national championship and become the No. 1 pick in the draft in the same 12-month window.
Joe Burrow was the No. 1 pick of the Cincinnati Bengals in the 2020 draft after leading LSU to a CFP national championship, and Auburn’s Cam Newton was the top pick by the Carolina Panthers in the 2011 draft.
