Fernando Mendoza capped a historic 2025 season by winning the Heisman Trophy and leading the Indiana Hoosiers to a 13–0 regular-season record. He also won the Davey O’Brien Award as the nation’s top quarterback before guiding the Hoosiers to their first national championship with a 27–21 win over the Miami Hurricanes.
The 6-foot-5, 225-pound redshirt junior threw for 3,535 yards and 41 touchdowns, putting himself firmly on the Las Vegas Raiders‘ radar for the 2026 NFL Draft. Most major mock drafts also project them to select Mendoza with the No. 1 overall pick in April as the Raiders are now desperate for a franchise signal-caller after the Pete Carroll-Geno Smith partnership failed miserably.
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Now, during Super Bowl week, the Miami native joined Kay Adams on the “Up & Adams” show to make some future Super Bowl talk with the sports media personality. In that appearance, Mendoza shared a superstitious moment involving the Lombardi Trophy.
When Adams asked Mendoza about nearly touching the iconic championship hardware, Mendoza replied, “I almost touched it. I was like touch it. But it’s bad luck. I did not touch it. Did not touch it. I was so close to touching it. And you know, I’m a little superstitious. That would have been really bad luck.”
Indiana Hoosiers quarterback Fernando Mendoza poses for photos with the Heisman trophy.Brad Penner-Imagn Images
(Brad Penner-Imagn Images)
The projected top pick then credited teammate Grant Wilson for teaching him the taboo of trophy-touching. When Adams joked about Mendoza one day winning a Super Bowl with the Raiders, the future NFL QB offered a very diplomatic answer.
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“Whatever team you’re asking, I’ll give them my all,” Mendoza said, dodging directly addressing the Raiders’ speculation despite mock drafts overwhelmingly projecting him to Las Vegas.
Mendoza’s path to the franchise looks increasingly clear, since the Raiders can move on from Smith after the 2026 season with no dead-cap charge in 2027. That flexibility gives the Heisman winner a clear opening to take over the quarterback position as the franchise looks to recover from this season’s 3-14 record.
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Related: Trevor Lawrence Talks Jaguars, Fernando Mendoza and His Scariest Pass Rushers
This story was originally published by Athlon Sports on Feb 6, 2026, where it first appeared in the NFL section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.