All college football seasons are wild because of the nature of the sport and its fandom, but the 2025 college football season has been bonkers with significant shuffling in the Heisman Trophy race, unexpectedly dominant teams, struggling blue-bloods, an abundance of parity and an early coaching carousel.
And, of course, how this season’s college players perform has a dramatic impact on the 2026 NFL Draft — particularly when it comes to quarterbacks.
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ESPN released Saturday the results from its latest polling of 25 NFL scouts and execs about which passer will be the first taken in the upcoming NFL Draft. Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza came in at No. 1, followed by Oregon’s Dante Moore and Alabama’s Ty Simpson, and, as ESPN noted, none of them earned a vote the last time they were polled.
Mendoza has had a standout season, and he’s been a Heisman Trophy favorite for much of the season so far with the second-best odds to win it as of Week 11. Ohio State freshman quarterback Julian Sayin replaced Mendoza this week as the Heisman frontrunner, but he’s obviously not eligible for the NFL Draft yet.
Going into Indiana’s Week 11 road game against Penn State, Mendoza had thrown for 2,124 yards, averaging 9.5 yards per pass, and four interceptions. His 72.3 completion percentage is fifth-best in FBS play, and his 25 thrown touchdowns are the second-most behind Baylor‘s Sawyer Robertson
What do scouts like? They start with the basics of him being 6-foot-5 and 225 pounds. He idolizes Tom Brady, which is viewed as a strong North Star for a prospect.
“He has ‘wow’ throws and playmaking passer ability,” one scout told ESPN. “He can anticipate post-snap.”
Added another: “He’s decisive, and he sees everything well. He’s got accuracy down the field and is very tough in the pocket.”
In ESPN’s poll of NFL scouts and executives, Oklahoma’s John Mateer, Cincinnati’s Brendan Sorsby and South Carolina’s LaNorris Sellers are the other college quarterbacks getting noticed. Earlier this season when ESPN offered this same poll, quarterbacks mentioned included Sellers, Mateer, LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier, Miami’s Carson Beck, Penn State’s Drew Allar, Arizona State‘s Sam Leavitt and Texas’ Arch Manning, who was the preseason Heisman favorite.
Of course, a lot can change between now and the end of the college football season, along with the NFL Draft. But Mendoza is a solid candidate for the Heisman Trophy and could end up being the top quarterback in the draft.