Fernando Mendoza is an American football player who plays as a quarterback for the Indiana Hoosiers. He is 6-foot-5 and 225 pounds and has emerged as one of the most interesting players in college football through his leadership and accuracy, as well as record production. Mendoza started his career at the University of California, Berkeley, but was transferred to Indiana University in the 2025 season. There, he brought Hoosiers to historic accomplishments, such as an undefeated record, a Big Ten title, national honors, and the status of a finalist in the Heisman Trophy.
Fernando Mendoza Biography | |
|---|---|
| Real Name: | Fernando Mendoza V |
| Birth Date: | October 1, 2003 |
| Age: | 22 Years |
| Birthplace: | Boston, Massachusetts, USA |
| Height: | 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) |
| Parents: | Elsa Mendoza and Fernando Mendoza IV |
Early Life
Fernando Mendoza was born on 1st October 2003, in Boston, Massachusetts, to Elsa Mendoza (mother, former UM tennis player) and Fernando Mendoza IV. He grew up in Miami, Florida, surrounded by the world of football and serving the community. He studied at the Christopher Columbus High School in Miami, where he was and continues to be a proven quarterback with good leadership qualities, athletic ability, and academic dedication. During his high school years, he passed 133 of 203 times and had 1,396 yards and 16 scores with 16 passing TDs, along with 137 rushing yards and a single TD, indicating that he was a dual threat at a young age.
He was involved in extracurricular activities, where he was also the president of the campus ministry of his school and vice president of the honors program, and led community projects like a turkey drive that benefited hundreds of families in need. Mendoza was initially a two-star recruit through 247Sports, but he signed with Yale University and eventually changed his commitment to the University of California, Berkeley, where he pursued his academic and athletic career.
Bond with Alberto Mendoza
Alberto and Fernando Mendoza are brothers who play college football as quarterbacks for the Indiana Hoosiers. Fernando Mendoza is the older brother and the team’s starting quarterback, known for his strong arm, size, and leadership. He transferred to Indiana to play alongside Alberto, who is the younger brother and serves as the backup quarterback. Both brothers are from Miami, Florida, and played high school football at Christopher Columbus High School. Their story gained attention because it is rare for brothers to play the same position on the same Division I college football team, making them a unique and notable duo in Indiana Hoosiers football.
Fernando Mendoza Career
Fernando Mendoza started his college career at California, where he redshirted his first year of college (2022) and subsequently played prominently. He proved himself to be a productive and efficient passer as a starter in 2023 and 2024 and showed that he can be on the field as one of the best in the top stages of college football. He threw for more than 3,000 yards and demonstrated a great mixture of accuracy, poise, and leadership during his time with the Golden Bears.
After the 2024 season, Mendoza transferred to the transfer portal and signed with the Indiana Hoosiers during his final year of eligibility. The transfer to Indiana was transformative to him and the program. In 2025, as the starting quarterback of the Hoosiers, Mendoza had a historic season, resulting in an overall record of 13-0, the Big Ten Championship, and a No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff, which put the university on the national stage. He had a completion percentage in excess of 70 percent and had school records of passing with 33 touchdowns and a total of 39, including six rushing scores.
Mendoza did not just bring success to the team. He was among the most awarded players in the country, having received the Maxwell Award (nation’s top player) and the Davey O’Brien Award (nation’s best quarterback) and won selections as the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year, Big Ten Quarterback of the Year, and First-Team All-Big Ten. He was also the recipient of the Walter Camp Player of the Year award and the MVP of the Big Ten Championship Game.
Besides his sporting success, Mendoza has managed to combine football and schoolwork. In 2025, he earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree at the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley and was said to be continuing graduate studies at Indiana University at the Kelley School of Business. On the LinkedIn profile, he emphasizes his good working ethics, engagement in name, image, and likeness (NIL) deals with companies like Adidas, and dedication to financial planning and time management.
Social Media
Fernando Mendoza is an active user of social media, especially on his Instagram page, @fernandomendoza, where he has grown to have more than 106,000 followers. His posts point out highlights of his football life, game day preparation and highlight reels, personal thoughts, team bonding, and photos of his life as a student-athlete. Mendoza uses this platform to interact with fans, provide behind-the-scenes content, and appeal to the Hoosiers community at large.
Personal Life
Fernando Mendoza has not publicly confirmed any romantic relationship, as of the latest publicly available information. There is no record, even of Mendoza himself, that can be trusted to name a partner or anything about his own love life. Instead, the truthful and respectful standpoint is that his status of a romantic relationship is confidential and undisclosed. Speculation or unverified allegations regarding personal relations are not covered here unless they are verified by some reliable sources.
Fernando Mendoza Net Worth
The net worth of Fernando Mendoza is not publicly known. Being a college athlete, he does not receive a standard professional salary, yet he has made money through name-image-likeness (NIL) contracts, such as collaborating with brands like Adidas. According to reports, such endorsement contracts, in addition to his academic scholarships (that cover his academic fees following his transfer), have yielded massive financial rewards beyond the usual student allowances.