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Indiana Hoosiers quarterback Fernando Mendoza entered the fray as one of the top players in the nation this season as the Big Ten school is poised to finish the regular season undefeated.
The Cal transfer, who is in his first season at Indiana, has 2,641 passing yards and is tied in the national lead with 30 touchdown passes. He’s among the favorites to win the Heisman Trophy this year with the best odds going into the final game of the regular season against Purdue, according to FOX Sports.
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Trent Green, an Indiana alum himself, took notice of Mendoza’s ability and was banging the drum for the young quarterback’s Heisman Trophy candidacy.
"Mendoza definitely deserves some Heisman support. I’ll start it right now. I think there’s a long list of people that have started it before me, but what he’s been able to do, what Curt Cignetti’s been able to do since he came over as head coach. I thought last year was just a phenomenal season for them to make it into the College Football Playoff to play Notre Dame," Green told Fox News Digital in a recent interview.
Green pointed to the close games in which Indiana was able to eke out wins in the fourth quarter. Late interceptions nearly crushed the Hoosiers, but Mendoza was able to lead his team to victories.
In one of those games, he found wide receiver Omar Cooper Jr. for a go-ahead touchdown. Cooper hit an incredible toe-tap to complete the catch in bounds.
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"Mendoza, you talk about just the character of him. I didn’t know a lot about him when he came over from Cal. There’s a reason why the guys follow him and he’s a leader and the guys in the locker room like him – his mental toughness," Green said. "A lot is made about how smart he is and he works through progressions and he gets them in the right play and he uses his feet at the right time and he’s able to make all the throws, but you think about the three tough road games that they had – they were at Iowa, at Oregon and at Penn State – all of those games, they were close games.
"He threw an early fourth quarter interception in all three of those games, yet he was able to clear that from his mind, come back out, will lead them on game-winning drives and throw a touchdown in the fourth quarter to win all those games on the road. So, that just shows you the mental toughness that goes along with all the talent that he has."
Green, who spoke to Fox News Digital on behalf of his partnership with Caesars Sportsbook, played at Indiana from 1989 to 1992.
He accumulated 5,136 passing yards and 31 touchdown passes in those four seasons.
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