Indiana Football Lands Cal Transfer Quarterback Fernando Mendoza

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Replacing Kurtis Rourke was among Indiana’s most important tasks this offseason, and on Tuesday morning the Hoosiers landed their quarterback of the future.

After three seasons in California, quarterback Fernando Mendoza is transferring to Indiana. Mendoza is a 6-foot-5, 225-pound quarterback with two seasons of eligibility remaining. He is ranked no. 2 among transfer portal quarterbacks by On3 and no. 3 by 247Sports.

After losing 27-17 at Notre Dame in the first round of the College Football Playoff, Indiana overhauled its quarterback room. Indiana’s 2024 starter, Rourke, exhausted his collegiate eligibility after a breakout year for the Hoosiers. He set single-season program records with 29 passing touchdowns and a 69.4% completion percentage. He also finished ninth in the Heisman Trophy voting and made the All-Big Ten second team.

Backup quarterback Tayven Jackson entered the transfer portal after his sophomore season with the Hoosiers, leaving true freshmen Tyler Cherry and Alberto Mendoza – Fernando’s younger brother – as the lone scholarship quarterbacks left on the roster. Indiana also lost quarterbacks coach and co-offensive coordinator Tino Sunseri, who left to take the offensive coordinator job at UCLA. There was much to replace, and Indiana moved quickly.

Replacing Sunseri will be Atlanta Falcons passing game coordinator Chandler Whitmer. He previously coached with the Los Angeles Chargers, Clemson and Ohio State following his playing career at UConn from 2012-14.

Bloomington has become an attractive destination for quarterbacks, given Rourke’s immediate success and coach Curt Cignetti’s track record. Before becoming Indiana’s head coach, Cignetti coached four quarterbacks at James Madison to Conference Player of the Year or Offensive Player of the Year honors: Ben DiNucci, Cole Johnson, Todd Centeio and Jordan McCloud.

Even with Sunseri gone, Indiana still has Cignetti and offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan. They comprise a quarterback-friendly coaching duo that has been together since 2016, with stops at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Elon, James Madison and now, Indiana.

They will look to continue their success coaching quarterbacks with Mendoza. During his redshirt sophomore season at Cal, Mendoza completed 265-of-386 passes (68.7%) for 3,004 yards, 16 touchdowns and six interceptions. He also picked up 105 rushing yards and two touchdowns on the ground.

Mendoza played 11 games in 2024, helping Cal to a 6-5 record. He did not play in the regular season finale against SMU or Cal’s bowl game against UNLV. Cal joined the ACC in 2024, although Mendoza did not receive any all-conference honors.

Mendoza got his first chance to play as a redshirt freshman in 2023. In nine games, he completed 153-of-243 passes (63%) for 1,708 yards, 14 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He also rushed for 92 yards and two touchdowns. He received honorable mention for the Pac-12 freshman offensive player of the year award and was named to the All-Pac-12 fourth team by Phil Steele. Cal went 4-5 when Mendoza played in 2023.

Mendoza redshirted and did not play in any games as a true freshman in 2022. He committed to Cal as a two-star recruit, ranked No. 140 among quarterbacks in the class of 2022 by 247Sports from Columbus High School in Miami, Fla. As a senior, he completed 107-of-169 passes (63.3%) for 1,109 yards with 11 touchdowns and four interceptions and reached the semifinals of the 8A Florida state playoffs.

For a complete list of Indiana inbound and outbound transfers, visit our transfer portal tracking HERE.