INDIANAPOLIS \u2014 Moments after Fernando Mendoza arrived for his formal visit with the Raiders at the scouting combine this week, someone handed him a phone.<\/p>\n
The voice that greeted him on the other end was familiar to anyone who\u2019s been a football fan for the last few decades, let alone a college quarterback on the cusp of realizing his lifelong dream of playing in the NFL.<\/p>\n
Moments after Fernando Mendoza arrived for his formal visit with the Raiders at the scouting combine this week, someone handed him a phone. Jacob Musselman-Imagn Images<\/p>\n
Only Tom Brady, the seven-time Super Bowl champion and soon-to-be first ballot Hall of Famer, wasn\u2019t just congratulating Mendoza on the fabulous season he just delivered while leading Indiana to the National Championship and winning the Heisman Trophy.<\/p>\n
Nor was Brady offering obligatory advice to Mendoza as Mendoza began to realize his NFL aspirations.<\/p>\n
Brady, the Raiders\u2019 minority owner and de facto president of football operations, was quite literally welcoming Mendoza to the dark side.<\/p>\n
No, Mendoza isn\u2019t an official member of the Raiders quite yet. The draft evaluation process is just hitting high gear, and the Raiders will do all their due diligence over the next month or before determining who they will select first overall in the NFL draft.<\/p>\n
That process will include fielding calls from multiple teams offering small fortunes to pry that pick away.<\/p>\n
But it will all be moot come April 23rd when the Raiders hand their draft card to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and officially set their new course with Mendoza as the undisputed face of their franchise.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe won a national championship, and that\u2019s what you want,\u201d new Raiders coach Klint Kubiak said this week about Mendoza. \u201cYou want a winner.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe California Post is here. Sign up for Morning Report.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGet the perfect blend of news, sports and entertainment delivered to your inbox every day.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\tThanks for signing up!\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Make no mistake, a relationship the Raiders hope extends into the next decade and beyond\u2014a partnership they believe can lead to the highest levels of success in professional football\u2014truly began the moment someone handed Mendoza the phone and told him the greatest quarterback of all time, and his future boss, wanted to say hello.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was very special to me,\u201d Mendoza said Friday. \u201cAnd I\u2019m looking forward to meeting him in person, hopefully one day, and learn it from him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fernando Mendoza of the Indiana Hoosiers warms up prior to a game against the Miami Hurricanes in the 2026 College Football Playoff National Championship at Hard Rock Stadium. (Photo by Jamie Squire\/Getty Images) Getty Images<\/p>\n
And eventually be tutored by the player Mendoza described as \u201cthe greatest quarterback of all time, by a wide margin.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo have the opportunity to be mentored by him, it would mean so much. Especially to learn, and I\u2019m all about learning. It\u2019s going to be a long journey, and to potentially have a mentor like that would be pretty impressive and pretty meaningful.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s only a matter of time before that happens, of course, no matter what you hear from the pundits who are inflating Mendoza\u2019s draft balloon or those poking holes in it.<\/p>\n
Depending on who you ask, Mendoza is either the best player in the draft or simply the best quarterback among an otherwise thin quarterback class.<\/p>\n
Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters <\/p>\n
California Post News: Facebook<\/a>, Instagram<\/a>, TikTok<\/a>, X<\/a>, YouTube<\/a>, WhatsApp<\/a>, LinkedIn<\/a> NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah has Mendoza as the top player on his board, describing him as a \u201cvery accurate thrower\u201d and \u201cinsanely tough.\u201d<\/p>\n ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky said this week that, eight games into his evaluation of Mendoza, he believes Alabama\u2019s Ty Simpson is the superior prospect.<\/p>\n None of it matters. Mendoza is a lock to go to the Raiders.<\/p>\n That is the sense Jets general manager Darren Mougey gets during his frequent talks with Raiders general manager John Spytek, some of which have broached the possibility of the Jets trading up with the Raiders.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think that\u2019s happening,\u201d \u00a0Mougey said. \u201cYou can ask Spytek, though.\u201d<\/p>\n Indiana NCAA college football quarterback Fernando Mendoza reacts after winning the Heisman Trophy in New York, Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025. (Todd Van Emst\/Pool Photo via AP) AP<\/p>\n It\u2019s not happening.<\/p>\n As an NFL personnel executive put it this week, \u201cEveryone is overthinking it for entertainment and content reasons. The Raiders need a starting quarterback, and he\u2019s available. It doesn\u2019t matter if he is the best or 10th-best player in the draft. It\u2019s irrelevant.\u201d<\/p>\n After wrapping up the call with Brady, Mendoza rolled up his sleeves with Spytek and Kubiak and got down to talking football.<\/p>\n As first impressions go, it could not have gone better.<\/p>\n \u201cI would say that they\u2019re very football savvy,\u201d Mendoza said. \u201cThey\u2019re very football savvy, which is great to see.\u201d<\/p>\n It was all football from that point. And that was right up Mendoza\u2019s alley.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a fantastic interview,\u201d Mendoza said. \u201cWe went over some of my previous plays, drew some plays on the board. I thought it was a great meeting.\u201d<\/p>\n For all the great back-shoulder throws and clutch plays he made throughout the Hooisers\u2019 magical run last season, Mendoza is nothing if not a football nerd who loves diving as deeply into the weeds of the game as possible, and who embraces all the dynamics of growing into a respected leader.<\/p>\n \u201cYou need equity, and you need two things to build equity,\u201d Mendoza said. \u201cOne, you need to play well. And that\u2019s where all my focus goes in football, football, football. If you want to lead, you\u2019ve first got to play well. And then second, it\u2019s having the respect of your teammates. Through your work ethic, through your leadership, through your tenacity, the way you respond to mistakes.\u201d<\/p>\n Indiana Hoosiers quarterback Fernando Mendoza lifts the trophy after the College Football Playoff National Championship game against the Miami Hurricanes at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect<\/p>\n That makes him a perfect fit for the Raiders, now led by Brady and the intel-driven leadership of Spytek and Kubiak.<\/p>\n Earlier this week, Spytek was asked what traits he looks for in a top quarterback. Without even mentioning Mendoza by name, Spytek literally described him.<\/p>\n \u201cA leader, tough as hell,\u201d Spytek said. \u201cSomebody that loves to play football, maniacal preparer. Obviously, somebody that can throw the ball well, but I think just somebody that loves the game and will give everything for their teammates. \u00a0think there\u2019s a great humility and selflessness required to play that position at a high level.\u201d<\/p>\n At one point, Kubiak drew up a play for Mendoza, and the soon-to-be coach and quarterback tandem broke it down together.<\/p>\n \u201cThey had their whole progression on how they teach the quarterbacks to play,\u201d Mendoza said. \u201cAnd it was very similar to how my Indiana progression was. I\u2019m a very type-A guy, and they had all the details for each play. What to do if you get a problem with this play? What\u2019s the progression? And that\u2019s something that I really enjoy.\u201d<\/p>\n It was just the beginning of what Mendoza and the Raiders believe will be a long relationship.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t
California Post Sports Facebook<\/a>, Instagram<\/a>, TikTok<\/a>, YouTube<\/a>, X<\/a>
California Post Opinion<\/a>
California Post Newsletters: Sign up here!<\/a>
California Post App: Download here!<\/a>
Home delivery: Sign up here!<\/a>
<\/a>Page Six Hollywood: Sign up here!<\/a><\/p>\n