Hoosiers’ head coach Curt Cignetti revealed that he liked Fernando Mendoza long before the Indiana fans saw the full version of the Heisman-winning quarterback. At Cal, the No. 1 2026 NFL Draft pick had talent, but the pocket was messy, the protection was shaky, and the numbers never told the whole story.

Reflecting on that Cal experience, when Curt Cignetti joined The Rich Eisen Show this week, he was asked a question: When did he know Fernando Mendoza was special? The answer wasn’t about some jaw-dropping throw or a magical practice moment. The Indiana head coach has to go back to the QB’s days in California. 

“I really liked him at Cal,” he said. “I thought he had a lot of talent. Georgia and Miami were the final two we had to overcome to get him. So he wasn’t an under-the-radar guy by any means. Needs some work in the pocket, footwork-wise. He didn’t have great protection at Cal.”

That last sentence explains a lot because he wasn’t the same QB people saw at Cal. A big reason for that was what was happening around him. During his final season with the Bears in 2024, he was under constant pressure. He got sacked 41 times, while Cal’s O-line allowed 49 sacks overall. To make matters worse, the team had almost no running game to help take pressure off the passing attack, finishing 133rd out of 134 FBS teams in rushing offense. 

Once he transferred to Indiana, things looked very different. The Hoosiers had one of the best rushing attacks in the country, ranking 12th nationally and averaging 5.33 yards per carry compared to Cal’s 2.76. Fernando Mendoza still took 25 sacks, but the pressure he faced dropped significantly, going from 38.4% at Cal to 28.3% at Indiana.

This pattern isn’t rare, though. Broncos QB Bo Nix jumped from 2,581 yards at Auburn to 4,329 at Oregon with a stronger run game. Similarly, Commanders QB Jayden Daniels thrived at Arizona State after LSU’s shaky protection. Better support often unlocks talent Mendoza already had.

Mendoza’s improvement didn’t happen overnight, and according to Curt Cignetti, Indiana’s first Big Ten game against Illinois was when the QB really started showing the player he could become.

”He had a big game against Illinois, our first Big 10 game here at home,” he said. “He really started to make big-time progress, built on his successes.”

Then came Iowa, Oregon, and Penn State, where he overcame mistakes to lead Indiana to wins. Against the Nittany Lions, he led the Hoosiers on an 80-yard game-saving drive in the final two minutes, delivering four perfect throws under pressure. That play still leaves Curt Cignetti shaking his head in disbelief.

“The Penn State comeback,” he said. “Wow. Never seen anything like it.” 

Those are the moments that separate good QBs from high-end quarterbacks. And his numbers show the same progression.

Curt Cignetti is more than impressed with Fernando Mendoza 

Curt Cignetti called Fernando Mendoza a “lion” as a competitor. He admitted he’s more than just impressed because his QB gave him something to take home too. 

“I’ve never been around a guy in 45 years that prepared like he did,” he said. “I mean, he covered every base and then some. I learned from him.”

That’s about as strong an endorsement as a coach can give. But he deserves every bit of it with his zeal to keep improving. Between Cal and Indiana, Fernando Mendoza threw for 6,539 yards, completed more than 70% of his passes, and tossed 57 TDs while rarely turning the ball over. But what really stood out was how much better he got with time. By the end, he was playing at an elite level, with his Total QBR jumping from 60.4 in his first 15 starts to over 92 in his final five games. 

Even against elite competition, Fernando Mendoza kept improving. His final stretch included victories over Ohio State, Alabama, Oregon, and Miami. During his last six college games, he completed 74% of his passes with 15 touchdowns and just one interception.

The truth behind his delayed success isn’t complicated, since the talent and work ethic already existed at Cal. As Indiana supplied a support structure and Fernando Mendoza supplied the rest, college football got to witness what Curt Cignetti had seen all along.