Fernando Mendoza addresses NY Jets talk at Heisman Trophy festivities
Fernando Mendoza recalls his first visit to NYC and answers a question about the New York Jets as he focuses on winning a national title.
Indiana Hoosiers quarterback Fernando Mendoza is in New York as the favorite to win the Heisman Trophy.Mendoza led the Hoosiers to their first outright Big Ten championship since 1945 by upsetting Ohio State.Mendoza’s focus is on Indiana’s national title quest, but his NFL dream is becoming real with Jets as possible suitors
NEW YORK – Fernando Mendoza was 13 years old the last time he was here, not yet the quarterback who is leading the Indiana Hoosiers on their stunning and improbable national title quest, and with that, his anticipated Heisman Trophy coronation on Saturday night.
Back then, Mendoza traveled to New York City with his grandfather and his younger brother with plans to catch the Thanksgiving Day Parade after hitting Broadway the night before to see “Jersey Boys.”
“It was a late night and we actually ended up oversleeping the parade,” he recalled with a laugh. “The whole reason we were here, and it was kind of ironic we missed it.”
On his way to the stage where he would pose for photos with the Heisman for the first time in the Playwright Ballroom inside the Marriott Marquis, Mendoza was asked Friday if he had the alarm on his cell phone ready to go, making sure he would not lose out on any of the festivities nine years later.
“No doubt,” Mendoza told NorthJersey.com and The Record with a smile. “Not about to miss anything this time around. I’ve always loved New York City. I’m honored to be in the Big Apple.”
There’s no question Mendoza’s presence this weekend and beyond commands the bright lights of the biggest city as the football world awaits his future. The New York Giants are currently projected to hold the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, but they already have an impressive rookie quarterback in Jaxson Dart.
Meanwhile, for the 48th year since Joe Namath, the New York Jets are still searching for one.
What would it be like for the Giants to not only pass on Mendoza because of Jaxson Dart, which is their most likely play, but by doing so, they’d potentially set up the Jets with their QB for the next generation?
I offered Mendoza a chance to let all those dropping into his storybook journey what they’d be getting.
“I’d like to think of myself, I got this reference from Sam Darnold, and he was saying he views himself as a point guard,” Mendoza said when asked for a scouting report of his game. “I’m not the LeBron James of the team. I’m not Shaquille O’Neal. I’m the point guard, dishing it out to all my playmakers.”
A quarterback with an affinity for Darnold, the one-time Broadway Sam drafted to save the Jets?
Sure, that works in this script.
Maybe this scenario will reach the level of the 2019 NFL Draft when the Jets posted a photo on social media depicting a trio of Jets fans wearing t-shirts that read: “Thank You Giants.”
The backhanded pleasantries included a cartoon of Darnold, whom the Jets selected to be their franchise quarterback the previous year. That was made possible when the Giants passed on Darnold with the second overall pick, instead taking Saquon Barkley.
The Giants believe they have their quarterback in Dart. Mendoza is a trendy mock draft pick to be the same for the Jets next year.
Led by Mendoza, the Hoosiers won their first outright Big Ten crown since 1945 last Saturday night by upsetting defending national champion Ohio State. He has 33 passing touchdowns and has produced 39 total scores while completing 71.5 percent of his passes for 2,980 yards.
If Mendoza does win the Heisman, and he is the favorite, he promised that he’ll first hand the iconic trophy to his mother Elsa, who is wheelchair-bound and has multiple sclerosis.
“She’s earned it,” he said with a smile.
Then, eventually, Mendoza wants to bring the trophy back to Bloomington and put it on display in the Hoosers’ locker room, because his teammates should know they played a big role in his latest achievement as they re-convene their once-in-a-lifetime season in two weeks in their college football playoff opener against the Alabama-Oklahoma winner in the Rose Bowl.
The Hoosiers are set to return to campus Monday and begin preparations to defend their No. 1 ranking.
“Football aside, I love New York City,” Mendoza said. “However, right now I’m focused on celebrating this weekend and I’m also focused on the rest of the college football playoffs. We think we have three games left, and that’s where all my focus is right now, to be in the present moment and give all my attention to the Indiana Hoosiers.”
Mendoza certainly has the journey to stardom that will make you buy into his story: two-star recruit out of high school, overlooked to the point where his best offer was to Yale until Cal lost a prospect and came in at the 11th hour with the only scholarship offer he got, one he could not refuse.
Admittedly, Mendoza is still taken aback when friends pass along mock drafts with his name at the top.
“The NFL is a whole different level,” Mendoza said. “It’s a more intricate system, a more intricate game. The margins get smaller. The windows get tighter. The players are better, they are older. They are grown men. These aren’t college kids anymore. … Hopefully one day I can accomplish [what was] my pipe dream of playing in the NFL.”
If that were to happen with the Jets, the next dream for Fernando Mendoza might just involve Broadway and a parade of a different kind through the heart of the Big Apple.