Fernando Mendoza opens up on ‘crazy’ Kirk Cousins and mom’s role in pivotal career gamble

Fernando Mendoza has a dream landing spot with the Las Vegas Raiders.

Not only is the 22-year-old entering his career on a team where he is expected to – eventually – be handed the keys to the franchise, but he also joins a quarterback room with proven mentor in Kirk Cousins.

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Fresh off leading the Indiana Hoosiers to a maiden National Championship, Mendoza was drafted No. 1 overall by the Raiders, who have arguably the greatest quarterback of all time in Tom Brady as part of their ownership group.

Keen to put some veteran leadership alongside him and give their young prospect a mentor, the Raiders also went out and signed Cousins to a five-year, $172 million contract, although it is effectively a one-year deal with void/insurance years.

In an appearance on his Raiders teammate’s The Rush With Maxx Crosby podcast, Mendoza candidly revealed what it’s been like so to work in a quarterback room which has so much NFL experience to be able to learn from.

“I have such an opportunity to learn from Kirk and Aiden [O’Connell]. Kirk’s notes are crazy, it’s nothing like I’ve ever seen,” Mendoza told Crosby and co-host Brogan Roback.

“This guy pulls up with like 20 notebooks of his entire career. So to see the way his mind works, along with Aiden who’s a brilliant mind especially in the quarterback space as well. Being able to learn from them has really been able to take and refine my mental process.

“A big thing with Kirk is the way that he just processes information. The advice that he’s given me is just off preparation.

“You see a common theme with all, great quarterbacks and them being prepared, if not overprepared, and them making sure they’re doing everything possible in being prepared to the max point in order to best serve their teammates and give themselves the best chance to succeed on Sundays.

“Seeing the lengths that Kirk’s gone has gone to and the mental aspect of it and the way that he stays after hours is there till 7:00 p.m. at night studying is something that I look up to and I’m looking to replicate and get my process refined off his.”

Fernando Mendoza’s mom played huge role in Indiana decision

Mendoza’s collegiate career started at the University of California, Berkley where he looked like a solid prospect, but not an outstanding one, completing 66.5 percent of his passes for 4,712 passing yards and 30 touchdowns to 16 interceptions across the two seasons.

“I got the opportunity to play at Cal. I was able to be the starter there for two years and it was a great opportunity,” Mendoza explained. “And going to college, my parents instilled to me at a young age, ‘You’re going to get your degree,’ And since you’re there all summer for football, I was able to get my degree in three years.

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“I honestly really did want to stay at Cal, but my mom is like, ‘Hey, you’re done with your degree at this point. Get out of your comfort zone right here. You got to take a swing for the fences.’

“If I hit a home run, great. And if I strike out, great. Because I know 20 years from now, I’m going to be able to sleep well at night knowing I bet on myself every chance I could.”

“Cal’s a great program. However, I decided that, I might as well take a bet on myself professionally. I took a couple visits and Indiana really sold me on developing me.

“Everyone else is like, ‘Hey, we’re going to win a national championship.’ And I knew I was a raw prospect at that point. And they [Indiana] said, ‘Hey, we’re going to develop you, and you’re going to be become the best version of you, which is going to help best serve your teammates.

“‘So, if you want to come here, we can’t promise you all this other stuff, but we’re going to promise we’re going to push you, and we’re going to make sure that we refine you the best quarterback you you can become this year.’ So, I was like, ‘All right, let’s let’s roll it.'”

Mendoza ultimately followed his gut, and turned down more financially-incentivized deals elsewhere in order to join his younger brother and play for Indiana, thanking his mom for instilling in him the “confidence” to bet on himself.

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In his lone season as a Hoosier under head coach Curt Cignetti, Mendoza completed a career-high 72.0 percent of his pass attempts for 3,535 passing yards and 41 passing touchdowns to just six interceptions.

He rushed for an additional 276 yards, and ran in a further seven scores, with the decision to transfer paying dividends, whilst also catapulting him into being the resounding No. 1 overall pick.

How does Ferrnando Mendoza prepare for games?

To perform so consistently that the Hoosiers went 16-0 undefeated in a campaign that saw him named Heisman Trophy winner, is a testament to his mentality and preparation to compete.

“I separate it [his preparation] into three different sectors. And if you overload one sector, it’s not going to be as effective as it usually can be. And I think that’s mental, physical, and emotional,” Mendoza said.

“I meet with a mental performance coach not because I have some sort of deprecating problem, but because I want to make sure I can get every edge I can.”

That will certainly bode well for his career in the NFL.

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