Former Indiana Hoosiers quarterback Fernando Mendoza is incomprehensibly busy in the lead-up to the 2026 NFL Draft, where he’s expected to be the No. 1 overall pick of the Las Vegas Raiders.
But it would be a public service if Mendoza could somehow find the time to teach a job interview course.
Indiana hosted its Pro Day on Wednesday. Mendoza, the reigning Heisman winner, completed 53 of 56 passes for members of all 32 NFL teams in attendance, per NFL.com’s Eric Edholm. Somehow, Mendoza was even more impressive in his sit-down interview with NFL Network’s Rhett Lewis.
For eight minutes, Mendoza answered every question with the same pinpoint accuracy he throws the football with. From the studio, Daniel Jeremiah asked Mendoza when he began preparing for the draft after beating Miami in the College Football Playoff National Championship at Hard Rock Stadium in his hometown of Miami.
“A lot of trainers, a lot of coaches, talk about the ‘rookie wall’ — that once you finish playing on Jan. 19, you go straight into training, and then you go all the way to next February, hopefully,” Mendoza said. “But at that point, I love football. And I’ve never burnt out. And I’m never gonna hit a rookie wall.”
“It’s still very important to give yourself rest in essence,” Mendoza continued. “So, I rested for a week and a half. Then, in early February, I started out training, lifting, running, but all those things are fun to me, and I find great pride and satisfaction in those activities anyway.”
Mendoza also sat with ESPN’s Louis Riddick and emphasized that, while he took his Pro Day seriously, his “goal is to be the best quarterback in September at the start of the season.”
After playing two seasons for the California Golden Bears, Mendoza transferred to Indiana for his junior season. In his lone season as a Hoosier, Mendoza threw for 3,525 yards and 41 touchdowns on 72% completion. He led all of FBS Division I football in touchdowns and passing efficiency rating (182.9).
Most importantly, Mendoza led the Hoosiers to a perfect 16-0 and their first national title in program history.
The 2026 NFL Draft begins on April 23 in Pittsburgh.
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