Fernando Mendoza earns ‘franchise QB’ props from Insider at Pro Day ahead of the NFL Draft

Indiana football held its pro day, and after he did not throw at the NFL Combine, all eyes were on Fernando Mendoza to see what he could show before the NFL Draft. Mendoza had one more opportunity to impress scouts, and he looked great. He looked ready for the NFL, and NFL media member Louis Riddick heaped all sorts of praise on his performance.

Mendoza has yet to play a down in the NFL, but after Indiana’s Pro Day, ESPN analyst Louis Riddick said Mendoza already looks like a franchise quarterback and shut down any debate over who would be the top pick in the NFL Draft. This type of praise is not unexpected, given how Mendoza looked this past season in college football.

“We can talk about how smooth he looked working from a simulated under-center snap,” Riddick said on NFL Draft Daily. “What does put work look like? How, on balance, he looked consistently, how tight the spiral was, throwing the football both during his warm-ups and for the entirety of his workout.

“We can talk about all that, but it’s the way in which he commanded himself from the time he walked out on this field to the time he came over here and sat down and talked with me and answered the questions that he answered. It kind of oozed franchise-caliber quarterback type of stuff.”

The key that stood out to Riddick was how in charge Mendoza looked under center. He looked like he was in complete and total command of everything. Mendoza took over the script entirely, calling out each receiver by name, telling them their route, and delivering every time. He also did all this in front of Las Vegas Raiders general manager and head coach John Spytek and Klint Kubiak.

On the field, he led the FBS with 41 passing touchdowns, set a school record, completed 72% of his throws for 3,535 yards, and started all 16 games as Indiana won the national championship. On top of winning the Heisman Trophy, he also won the Associated Press Player of the Year award, the Walter Camp Award, the Davey O’Brien Award, and the Maxwell Award. He also earned first-team All-American honors.

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