Fernando Mendoza, the Heisman Trophy winner who steered Indiana to its first national championship, turned Indiana’s pro day into one more showcase in a college career that already reads like a highlight reel. The 22-year-old quarterback worked inside the John Mellencamp Pavilion yesterday, uncorking roughly 56 passes in front of a packed house of NFL personnel and media. With added bulk and crisp timing, he gave scouts plenty to chew on as the draft creeps closer.
According to The Associated Press, all 32 NFL teams had scouts in attendance and more than 100 media members were credentialed. After the last of his roughly 56 throws inside the Mellencamp Pavilion, Mendoza told reporters, “I feel like it went great.” He worked through a script of short, intermediate and deep throws and flashed the kind of on-the-move accuracy NFL evaluators love to see on a controlled stage.
Why He Waited To Cut It Loose
Mendoza’s choice to pass on throwing at the NFL scouting combine was all part of the plan, and it had less to do with him than with the guys catching the ball. He explained on The Pat McAfee Show that “At the combine, you’re throwing to different receivers,” a rationale highlighted by ESPN. By saving his throws for Bloomington, Mendoza gave Indiana pass catchers a chance to run timing routes they actually know, in front of the very scouts who will be deciding their futures.
Numbers That Turned Heads
The buzz around Mendoza is not built on one workout. His 2025 stat line was the stuff of video games: he completed 273 of 379 passes, a 72 percent clip, for 3,535 yards and 41 touchdowns against just six interceptions, per Sports Illustrated. That production, capped by a twisting touchdown run in the College Football Playoff title game, powered Indiana’s 16-0 march and delivered the program’s first national championship.
Raiders Keep Coming Around
Mendoza checked in at 236 pounds, roughly 11 pounds heavier than his listed playing weight, and worked primarily out of the shotgun while also showing he can handle under-center snaps, according to The Associated Press. He said he has already met with the Las Vegas Raiders twice and has another sit-down scheduled before the draft begins on April 23, a schedule that helps explain why so many project him as the likely No. 1 overall pick.
What Comes Next
After the workout, Mendoza told SportsCenter’s Louis Riddick, “My goal is to be the best quarterback in September,” a timetable noted by ClutchPoints. For Bloomington, Indiana’s pro day doubled as a celebration of a historic run and a last home-stage audition for teammates hoping to ride that success into NFL jobs.
