Fernando Mendoza wins Indiana football's first Heisman Trophy

NEW YORK — Indiana football quarterback Fernando Mendoza joked at the start of the weekend that growing up he thought his best shot at winning the Heisman was in a video game. 

The former two-star recruit once contemplated walking away from the sport thanks to the lack of interest from Power Four teams, but thanks to the advice of his mother Elsa, Fernando fought through the adversity to become the top player in the sport after winning the Heisman Trophy on Saturday night.  

Mendoza is Indiana football’s first Heisman Trophy winner, beating out fellow finalists, Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin, Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia and Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love for the award. 

“All those (struggles) were blessings,” Mendoza said this weekend. “They lit a fire underneath myself in order to make myself work harder and get to the point where I am today.”

He entered the weekend as a heavy favorite for the award after leading IU to a top seed in the College Football Playoff and Big Ten championship. 

Mendoza had a series of Heisman-worthy moments during the Hoosiers' first perfect regular season with game-winning drives against the likes of Oregon and Penn State. His final Heisman pitch came in the Big Ten title game against Ohio State. 

After almost getting knocked out of the game on the first play, he made a series of clutch throws down the stretch to lead IU to its first league title since 1967. 

The Heisman completed a sweep of major national awards for Mendoza. 

He won the Walter Camp Award, Maxwell Award and Davey O’Brien Award in the days leading up the Heisman ceremony. He was also named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year and Quarterback of the Year. 

Mendoza was only the second finalist in program history — former IU running back Anthony Thompson was runner-up in 1989 — and sixth top-10 finisher. Thompson was also the only other player in program history to win the Walter Camp and Maxwell, and Mendoza is the first player to win the Davey O’Brien.

Mendoza was joined in New York by a large contingent of teammates and coaches. Indiana coach Curt Cignetti, athletic director Scott Dolson, offensive coordinator Mike Shahanan and quarterbacks coach Chandler Whitmer all attended the ceremony. 

Cignetti compared Mendoza to Jerry West, one of his idols growing up in West Virginia, during an interview with Holly Rowe during the ceremony.

"I can't think of a bigger compliment to pay a competitor," Cignetti said.

Pat Coogan, Carter Smith, Riley Nowakowski, Aiden Fisher and Charlie Becker were among the players that paid their own way to the city to support Mendoza and had a private watch party at a local steakhouse. 

"He's everything the Heisman is about. He encapsulates what the trophy means and stands for, and the history of the trophy,” Coogan said Saturday morning. 

Mendoza's brother Alberto, IU’s backup quarterback, was also in New York and joined Fernando at the ceremony alongside their parents. 

Throughout the weekend, Mendoza pledged to follow Cignetti’s “24-hour celebration” rule and get back to work on prepping for the CFP after traveling back to Bloomington on Sunday night. 

“We are all honored to play in the Rose Bowl,” Mendoza said. “That’s a dream, especially my first three years I played at Cal, everyone always talked about the Rose Bowl what a great honor and such a magical place to play.”

Michael Niziolek is the Indiana beat reporter for The Bloomington Herald-Times. You can follow him on X @michaelniziolek and read all his coverage by clicking here.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Fernando Mendoza wins Indiana football's first Heisman Trophy