Fernando Mendoza with the Las Vegas Raiders, 2026
With the Las Vegas Raiders, 2026. Photo: Bobak Ha’Eri, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Quarterback, Indiana (from California), 2022–⁠25

Fernando Mendoza

Number
No. 15
Height
6′5″
Weight
225 lb
Class (2025)
Junior
Hometown
Miami, FL
Born
Oct 1, 2003, in Boston, Massachusetts

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Fernando Mendoza played quarterback at California (2022–⁠24) and Indiana (2025). He was the quarterback of the 2025 national champions (16–⁠0). He won the 2025 Heisman Trophy, the 2025 Davey O’Brien Award, the 2025 Manning Award, the 2025 Maxwell Award and the 2025 Walter Camp Award. The Las Vegas Raiders took Mendoza first overall in the 2026 NFL Draft.

At a glance

Best season
3,535
Passing yards, 2025 (Indiana, 16–⁠0)
National rank
No. 1
In FBS in passing touchdowns, 2025
Drafted
No. 1
Overall, 2026 NFL Draft (Las Vegas Raiders)

Career highs

385passing yards, career highat Wake Forest, 20245touchdown passes, career highthree times; last vs. Oregon, 20252rushing touchdowns, career highvs. USC, 2023

Honors

Team titles: National champions, 2025 (Indiana); Big Ten champions, 2025

All-America: AP first team 2025; AFCA 2025; FWAA 2025; Walter Camp 2025; ESPN 2025; Pro Football Focus 2025; Sports Illustrated 2025; The Athletic 2025; and one more selector’s team

Players of the year, conference and regional honors: Wikipedia’s lists (CC BY-SA), each linked from its honor.

Passing

Passing yards, season by season, with his team’s record
SeasonTeamCmpAttPctYdsY/ATDInt
2023California15324363.01,7087.01410
2024California26538668.73,0047.8166
2025Indiana27337972.03,5359.3416
Career6911,00868.68,2478.27122

Rushing

SeasonTeamCarYdsAvgTDLong
2023California49861.8216
2024California871051.2250
2025Indiana902763.1721
Career2264672.11150

Season lines from CollegeFootballData, regular season and bowls.

On the roster

SeasonTeamNo.PosClassHtWt
2022California15QBRS
2023California15QBFr.
2024California15QBSo.
2025Indiana15QBJr.6′5″225

As each season’s roster listed the player (CollegeFootballData). Classes before the latest listing are counted back from it; “Yr 1” is the year on file where that count can’t place a season he played (a redshirt, transfer or 2020 year); height and weight as last listed.

Per play

SeasonTeamPlaysEPA/playPctileMedianTotalUsageAdj. passAdj. rush
2023California2800.3251st (n=255)0.3288.945%0.43-0.07
2024California4470.3568th (n=238)0.30155.763%0.300.25
2025Indiana4690.5699th (n=314)0.24261.843%0.610.56

Expected points added: how much the player’s plays moved the team’s expected score, per play and in total. Plays: total EPA divided by EPA per play, the plays the source credits to him (for a receiver roughly his catches and runs, not every target; for a passer, not every attempt), so it can differ from attempts plus carries. Percentile: against the position’s regulars that season across all divisions on file (quarterbacks with 150+ plays, backs 60+, receivers and tight ends 30+), with how many there were (n) and their median; a dash means too few plays to rank. A season in progress uses the full-season bar scaled by games played, never below 75 plays for quarterbacks, 30 for backs and 20 for receivers. The cohort grows or shrinks with the source’s coverage each season (2025 lists far more players), so compare percentiles rather than raw EPA across years. FCS seasons are marked. Usage: the share of the team’s plays the player was part of (shown from 20 plays). Adjusted pass and rush: EPA per play adjusted for the defenses faced (CollegeFootballData’s WEPA). From CollegeFootballData, 2013 on.

Passing detail

SeasonTeamSuccessDepthAfter catchDeep throwsDeep completed
2025Indiana59%9.5 yds4.9 yds30 of 19050%

Success: passes that kept the offense on schedule. Depth: how far downfield his passes traveled in the air, on average. After catch: yards his receivers gained after the catch, per completion. Deep throws: the play-by-play gives depth and direction for about half of a passer’s throws; this is how many of those went deep, and how many of the deep ones were caught. From CollegeFootballData, FBS games, 2025 on.

Rushing detail

SeasonTeamSuccessLine yardsSecond levelOpen fieldStuffed
2025Indiana65%4.201.801.208%

Where his yards came from, per carry: line yards are the ones credited to the blockers (the first few, and losses), second level the yards 5 to 10 past the line, open field those beyond 10. Success: carries that kept the offense on schedule. Stuffed: carries stopped at or behind the line. From CollegeFootballData, FBS games, 2025 on.

Game by game

2025 Indiana 16 games, 3,535 passing yards, 41 TD
DateOpponentResultCmpAttYdsTDIntRush
Aug 30vs.Old DominionW 27–⁠1418311930033
Sep 6vs.Kennesaw StateW 56–⁠918252454020
Sep 12vs.Indiana StateW 73–⁠019202705019
Sep 20vs.IllinoisW 63–⁠102123267504
Sep 27atIowaW 20–⁠1513232332126
Oct 11atOregonW 30–⁠2020312151131
Oct 18vs.Michigan StateW 38–⁠1324283324018
Oct 25vs.UCLAW 56–⁠615221683145
Nov 1atMarylandW 55–⁠1014212011124
Nov 8atPenn StateW 27–⁠2419302181120
Nov 15vs.WisconsinW 31–⁠7222429940−24
Nov 28atPurdueW 56–⁠38151172027
Dec 6vs.Ohio StateW 13–⁠10152322211−3
Jan 1 ✦vs.AlabamaW 38–⁠314161923016
Jan 9 ✦vs.OregonW 56–⁠2217201775028
Jan 19 ✦vs.MiamiW 27–⁠21162718600−8
2024 California 11 games, 3,004 passing yards, 16 TD
DateOpponentResultCmpAttYdsTDIntRush
Aug 31vs.UC DavisW 31–⁠131522158102
Sep 7atAuburnW 21–⁠1425362332012
Sep 14vs.San Diego StateW 31–⁠10212919821−2
Sep 21atFlorida StateL 9–⁠142236303014
Oct 5vs.MiamiL 38–⁠3911222852120
Oct 12atPittsburghL 15–⁠17273727210−34
Oct 19vs.NC StateL 23–⁠24304228200−7
Oct 26vs.Oregon StateW 44–⁠727363642025
Nov 8atWake ForestW 46–⁠3640563852151
Nov 16vs.SyracuseL 25–⁠33223422512−1
Nov 23vs.StanfordW 24–⁠2125362993035
2023 California 9 games, 1,708 passing yards, 14 TD
DateOpponentResultCmpAttYdsTDIntRush
Sep 2atNorth TexasW 58–⁠2101000−3
Oct 7vs.Oregon StateL 40–⁠5221322072141
Oct 14atUtahL 14–⁠3410171492112
Oct 28vs.USCL 49–⁠5025392922148
Nov 4atOregonL 19–⁠63183417701−12
Nov 11vs.Washington StateW 42–⁠391421150205
Nov 18atStanfordW 27–⁠15243629431−8
Nov 25atUCLAW 33–⁠7193017822−3
Dec 16 ✦vs.Texas TechL 14–⁠342233261136

Box scores from CollegeFootballData, 2004 on. ✦ postseason; ★ a career high on file.

Before the draft

DrillCombine 2026
Height6′4¾″
Weight236 lb
Arm length31⅞″
Hand size9½″
Wingspan76¾″

Combine and pro day results compiled by array-carpenter (nfl-draft-data).

In the NFL

1 season, 1 game with a stat; latest team: Las Vegas Raiders.

SeasonTeamGCmpAttYdsTDIntRush
2026 (so far)Las Vegas Raiders16848003

Regular seasons, from nflverse (CC BY 4.0). G counts games in which the player recorded a stat.

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